Andy Serkis on 'Gollum' in LOTR and how he was almost advised against taking it up

Andy Serkis, who is still known to this day for his amazing portrayal of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, was actually advised against taking up the role. The actor spoke to a news portal about his experience with the character and how he got the role of Gollum. He also shed light upon the fact of how new the concept of motion capture and digital characterisation was worrisome for some people, who advised him against playing Gollum.

Andy Serkis talks about 'Gollum' from The Lord of the Rings

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Serkis refused to name the actor who asked him to not play Gollum; however, he did give an interesting trivia of how Gollum as a character came to him. Andy Serkis mentioned that initially his agent was informed about The Lord of the Rings being shot in New Zeeland. His agent then brought him some scripts and asked him to go over them. Andy’s agent then told him that the film is quite extraordinary and the makers were looking for Andy to lend his voice as they wanted to use it in a digital character.

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Andy Serkis was shocked at first as he had no idea of what a digital character was. Serkis then continued by saying that during the reading of the script, he was in Prague shooting with an actor. He recalled telling this particular actor about the role. Andy Serkis told the actor that he was finding the role very interesting and was actually considering going to New Zeeland for the shoots. However, the actor stopped and questioned him. He asked him if his face will appear on the screen. To which Andy said that it won’t be due to his character being a digital one. It was then this actor advised Andy Serkis to not do the role. The actor even said that he himself would not do the role even he had the opportunity.

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However, years later Gollum was indeed played by Andy Serkis and became a beloved character among fans of The Lord of the Rings film. The character of Gollum was obsessed with the ring and was a wretched being. These traits were perfectly portrayed by Andy in the series and Gollum as a character forever became his own, according to fans of the series.

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