When Andy Serkis first played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings movies, motion capture was something of an unknown quantity. In the years that have followed, it's become a method of storytelling that's been used in movies like Avatar, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Avengers: Infinity War to jaw-dropping effect.
Reflecting on being the actor who helped usher in that technology, Serkis tells GQ that he became something of an outcast while working on The Fellowship of the Ring.
"It’s sort of always been part of my life," he explains. "They were living with each other. They were a fellowship, who all got tattoos; I didn’t. I was just the ring bearer."
"When Lord Of The Rings originally came out, there would be literally people who would say, 'Who is that character? Is he a dancer? Is he a contortionist?'" Serkis said of how he was perceived by his fellow castmates. "Older actors were like, 'You wouldn’t catch me dead doing motion capture. It’s the end of our profession.'"
"I literally heard someone saying that. There were lots of jokes about it; you know, Saturday Night Live things with people in suits with ping pong balls attached. It was ripe for ridiculing - and rightly so."
Serkis would prove everyone wrong, delivering a game-changing performance that changed Hollywood forever. Beyond the characters he's starred as (Caesar and Supreme Leader Snoke instantly come to mind), without the actor, it's no exaggeration to say there would be no Thanos, Na'vi, and Venom, for example.
Asked whether he believes an actor who plays a motion-capture character could eventually win an Oscar (fans once campaigned for Serkis to receive a "Best Actor" nod for his work as Caesar), he said: "Absolutely. It hasn’t happened yet, but it will. I think it’s imminent."
What do you guys think about the way Serkis was treated on the set of The Fellowship of the Ring? Let us know your thoughts on that in the comments section.