'It's the end of typecasting': Andy Serkis praises motion capture animation
He's known for characters like Gollum and Caesar the Ape
Last updated 13th Jul 2017
Andy Serkis says more actors should get involved in motion capture animation.
He's made a career of playing animated characters, with iconic roles like Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series, Supreme Leader Snoke in the Star Wars franchise and Caesar the Ape in the Planet of the Apes films.
He's back for his third turn as Caesar in this week's War for the Planet of the Apes. The film, which sees apes and humans finally face off in a war, also stars Woody Harrelson and Steve Zahn.
Speaking about motion capture, for which he's become the go-to actor for, Andy says it's the 'ultimate' actor's tool.
'It's the greatest film tool for an actor in the 21st century, as it means that you can play anything!'
He added, 'despite your size, your colour, your shape, whatever you are; as long as you have the acting chops then you can play anything'.
Andy also touched on the controversy around motion capture performances being overlooked at award shows.
At the moment, motion capture films like War for the Planet of the Apes aren't eligible for 'Best Animated Feature' awards at the Oscars, and a motion capture performance has never been nominated for an acting award.
'I just think people continue to misunderstand what it is', he revealed.
'Like Mark Rylance in the BFG', he added. 'The secret is there is no secret - it's just acting!'
Andy will be seen next in the upcoming Star Wars film The Last Jedi, and the highly anticipated Marvel film Black Panther.
Speaking about taking part in secretive films like these, Andy admitted that he has an amazing poker face and 'can't say anything about them'. Good poker face indeed!
Catch our full interview here >>
War for the Planet of the Apes is out July 13. Watch the trailer here >>