Serkis Andy Quotes & Sayings

What's fantastic is that there's a real growing appreciation for performance-capture technology as a tool for acting. — Andy Serkis

Over the years, people have asked me, 'Do you think there should be a separate category for acting in the digital realm? Or hybrid sort of awards for digital characters?' and so on. And I've always really maintained that I don't believe so. — Andy Serkis

Basically we're puppeteers and if you're there and you're in the character, the puppet is going to look good. It's going to breath life and I think once they find out how to trust this system, you just forget about it and just perform, then it's just second nature, it just becomes easy. — Andy Serkis

I've done a fair amount of that stuff ... when we did Lord of the Rings the transformation sequence from Smeagol to Gollum was a 19-hour make-up job. You have to have a kind of zen button that you press and allow the mind to be focused in a certain way. — Andy Serkis

But the first time I had to stand up and sing with them was when we did the pre-record for the movie and it was that moment where I sort of said to myself: "S**t, now I actually have to do this and I have to stand up and do my stars in your eyes moment!" Wake Up and Make Love With Me was the first song and I thought: "Here we are with Chaz and all the boys ... " — Andy Serkis

I think even back as far as 'Lord of the Rings,' there was always the chance that 'The Hobbit' would be made, even way back then. Of course at that point, Peter Jackson didn't probably think at that point that he'd be directing it. — Andy Serkis

If you're in a motion-capture studio, you have spherical, reflective markers, which are picked up by cameras that emit infrared - it reflects it, and then the cameras pick up the data. — Andy Serkis

I've been told that some guy wrote something like, 'Andy Serkis does everything, animators do nothing.' Of course I never in a million years said that, wouldn't ever say that. It's not within my understanding of filmmaking to ever say anything like that. — Andy Serkis

Performance capture is a technology, not a genre; it's just another way of recording an actor's performance. — Andy Serkis

J.J. Abrams and I met, and we just had this incredible kind of vibe between us. — Andy Serkis

After 'Kong,' my knuckles have never recovered because I had to wear very heavy weights on my forearms and around my hips and ankles to get the sense of size and scale of the movement of the character ... You are telling your body that you are these things and that you're feeling these thoughts and that you're experiencing these experiences. — Andy Serkis

Thank God for Skype! — Andy Serkis

Acting is acting, as far as I'm concerned and, you know, how you manifest it is, at the end of the day, not the point. It's how it affects the story & how it affects the audience. And if people are hungry to be told stories, using, using this form then there's a reason for that. — Andy Serkis

35mm film isn't ticking away so it's subconscious - performances are allowed to breathe in a much more real way I think. — Andy Serkis

Before I became an actor, I was a visual artist, and I've always hankered for the storytelling behind the camera. — Andy Serkis

On lower budget things you're still working collaboratively, but the investment and your level of creative importance is higher on something like this. — Andy Serkis

I think I'd like to be a lion tamer, actually. That - that would provide the most audience entertainment if something went really badly. — Andy Serkis

People find it hard to get their heads around nominating a computer-generated character, but every time you see Gollum on the screen, that's me who is acting up there - even if it is behind a mass of pixels - and it's my voice you hear. — Andy Serkis

Put it this way: If I had to go back to 1968 and wear the makeup that John Chambers made for the original 'Planet of the Apes' series, I think I would rather wear a unitard. — Andy Serkis

There's a huge gulf between people who can afford to go to drama school and those who can't. — Andy Serkis

When you start to do research into gorillas or any kind of apes, if you're going to play them, that's one of the biggest misconceptions. And when I did Kong, you're not doing gorilla movements, you're not doing ape movements, you're looking for a personality. It's like saying okay I'm going to do human movements. — Andy Serkis

Originally when I went off to work on 'The Lord of The Rings' I got a call from my agent saying that I was just going to do a voice. But I couldn't really approach it like that. To get Gollum's voice I had to play the character. — Andy Serkis

When you do animation - well, straightforward animation, although it's not straightforward - the voice for a character or something, they're always singular experiences, really. — Andy Serkis

The great thing about performance capture is you can go off, and then, without changing costume, you can become another character. — Andy Serkis

I've done a lot of films that are purely live-action roles, and even if I hadn't come across performance capture as a technology, I think I'd always consider myself a sort of mercurial actor. — Andy Serkis

When I played Gollum in 'Lord of the Rings,' if I was climbing up the side of a mountain, which I physically did, you know, I was on every single occasion swimming through streams, all of that, that wasn't captured. That was filmed on 35 millimeter, and for certain of those shots, it was rotoscoped and painted over. — Andy Serkis

I do love nature, but I don't suppose I'd spent more time in zoos as a child than anyone else! — Andy Serkis

As I started to research gorillas, I began to understand that they're all totally individual and idiosyncratic, and they have their own personalities. — Andy Serkis

My livelihood depends on the art of animators. — Andy Serkis

The thing is, I don't just take roles because they're performance capture. — Andy Serkis

Certain gorillas are more evolved than certain human beings I know. — Andy Serkis

I love, first of all, reading and discovering what the common perception is and then trying to figure out ... well, how does your life cross over into that character, or what's an angle on this that might challenge the status quo? It's just a great journey as well as an education. You're constantly being educated - it's like I'm back at school and making up for lost time. — Andy Serkis

If 'The Hobbit' happens - and there's reason to believe that it will - then I think I'm in with a chance! Gollum is very much part of 'The Hobbit,' after all. — Andy Serkis

It's a different rhythm than most movies. For a lot of the actors, you're 12,000 miles away from home. It becomes a way of life - getting up at five in the morning, shooting every day, day in day out, for 270 days. The new cast playing the dwarves were carrying incredibly heavy weights in their suits, they sat through hours of make-up every day. So it's quite challenging from a stamina point of view. — Andy Serkis

The learning curve is 'The Hobbit' is being shot in 3D. — Andy Serkis

Everybody thinks performance capture is about thrashing around and doing a lots of movement, but it's actually about being able to contain and think and be believed in a close-up, as much as anything else. — Andy Serkis

I grew up with 'Star Wars' and was a massive fan of the original films. — Andy Serkis

What's wonderful about Tolkien and Shakespeare is that they show up your own individual microscope. They're so infinitely vast. You can reinterpret them in so many ways. — Andy Serkis

That's why I ended up going to Lancaster University, because they had a visual arts course, and in the first year it was like a broad visual arts course in sculpture, painting, graphics - all of that. — Andy Serkis

Originally, I thought, 'Gollum's such a fantastic character, why are you doing him CG? Surely you need to be able to humanise him as much as possible - he's so full of pathos and real emotion.' — Andy Serkis

Just being an ape is a workout. — Andy Serkis

People are mystified by it and so they kind of think, the acting community thinks they're gonna be replaced by CG characters and animators think they're gonna be replaced by performance capture (and) a lot of directors, particularly European directors, who have no experience of it. — Andy Serkis

I expect at some point I'll probably want to go back on stage and do some theater, because I've not done theater in 10 years. — Andy Serkis

I think my mum wanted me to join the army or something, or become a surveyor - something with good career prospects. — Andy Serkis

On 'The Avengers,' I've been working closely with Mark Ruffalo. — Andy Serkis

Any sort of role requires a certain amount of research and embodiment of the character and psychological investigation. — Andy Serkis

I'm definitely moving more towards directing now. — Andy Serkis

I love the whole kind of notion of transformation for me is (what) excites me about not only acting, but storytelling. I love, I love that notion of a slightly larger-than-life artistic truth, you know, magnifying real emotional truth (or) finding something about human condition (which), you wouldn't necessarily think you can learn from characters such as Kong or Gollum, but actually they are, you know, these huge amplifications of a human psyche and I suppose those kind of roles have always attracted me definitely. — Andy Serkis

Gollum is entirely based on the notion of addiction. The way that the ring pervades him, makes him craving, lustful, depletes him physically, psychologically and mentally. — Andy Serkis

My natural bent is to have an overabundance of energy, and motion-capture essentializes your every breath, your every move. Seeing yourself through that mask, you realize how far you can pull back and make the performance even more powerful. — Andy Serkis

Not a day goes by where I'm not reminded of Gollum by some person in the street who asks me to do his voice or wants to talk to me about him. But because 'The Hobbit' has been talked about as a project for many years, I knew that at some point I'd have to reengage with him. — Andy Serkis

I remember once, I read in a horoscope, because I'm an Aries, I read this terrible thing, which really affected me, which said, "You will never be original. You will always be an interpreter." (Laughs) I thought, "Oh my God." You know, I had to live with that on my back for [all my life]. — Andy Serkis

My dad was working abroad, in Iraq, and he was a doctor. We used to go and visit him, in Baghdad, off and on. For the first ten years of my life, we used to go backwards and forwards to Baghdad, so that was quite amazing. I spent a lot of time traveling around the Middle East. — Andy Serkis

In the same way 'Lord of the Rings' was an interpretation of the book, 'The Hobbit' is being treated the same way. It will be faithfully represented with a fresh interpretation. — Andy Serkis

I think I have a lot of internal energy, which does need to come out. — Andy Serkis

I'm not a big gamer myself. I've (become) increasingly interested in games. And I certainly am passionate about, about storytelling in gaming. And, and the marriage of, you know, immersive characters, with gaming. — Andy Serkis

Playing a character in a video game is different to other performances because your character can't lead the audience of players in one direction. — Andy Serkis

If it was a great script and a great character, I would love to do a romantic comedy. — Andy Serkis

I guess I just tend to feel at home wherever I go. — Andy Serkis

Britain has enormous amount of talent, as we've seen from the BAFTAs. It's all here, and it has to be allowed to flourish. — Andy Serkis

When we, as humans, articulate, our tongues tend to hit the back of the teeth. — Andy Serkis

If you are not moved by the character, no amount of CGI will give you a performance that is emotionally engaging or devastating - what a live-action performance does. — Andy Serkis

The whole chameleon thing about acting. That's why I'm moving towards directing - it's a much more healthy occupation. — Andy Serkis

The fact of the matter is I have done so many parts. — Andy Serkis

'Macbeth' is an amazing story. — Andy Serkis

Gollum is Gollum - though in 'Lord of the Rings' he's 600 years old and in 'The Hobbit' he's 540, so he looks a little bit more handsome. — Andy Serkis

A lot of people have asked me to do answer phone messages for them. — Andy Serkis

There are parts of New Zealand that I absolutely fell in love with that I will miss going back to, but I kind of think that is the part that can continue and will continue on. I don't imagine I'll stop going back to New Zealand, because I feel part of the fabric there, really. — Andy Serkis

Working from home is so, so hard because I want to be present for them and yet there's so much to do work-wise. That's the biggest challenge for me. — Andy Serkis

I'd like to think that we strive in film and theatre to tell great stories, and I believe in the power of storytelling in our culture. — Andy Serkis

I never felt totally, 100%, patriotically English ... I'd seen a lot of the world by an early age - sort of spent a lot of time traveling around Lebanon and I'd seen Babylon, and Damascus, and all sorts of places in the Middle East by the time I was ten. Then we'd return to Ruslip in West London ... Done a fair bit of traveling really. — Andy Serkis

Gollum has a weak personality and isn't able to cope with the power of the ring. — Andy Serkis

I play saxophone, I play tenor sax. — Andy Serkis

Hoodwink is a product of his environment. He grew up in Belfast, he was part of the UDA and he fought for what he believed in - or was brainwashed into believing - because of the people that surrounded him. — Andy Serkis

That's what I think is the biggest challenge, is just being still and learning how to just be present in that stillness and not over do it, not over act. — Andy Serkis

If James Franco's wearing a costume, and I'm wearing a motion capture suit, we don't act any differently with each other because of what we're wearing. We're embodying our roles. — Andy Serkis

More and more good actors are now transmigrating into the videogame space and playing roles there because it's where my generation of kids get stories from. — Andy Serkis

Actors' performances do not stand alone in any film, live action or whatever. — Andy Serkis

I think parenting is very different now. We're totally governed by our children! — Andy Serkis

We've never had nannies. We've had great grandparents, great support from family, and the kids have been on every set: they've seen me play Gollum, King Kong, Captain Haddock, the lot. They totally get it, and they want to go into the business. Ruby, my daughter, is very keen to become an actress. — Andy Serkis

I wanted to be a painter, really, when I was growing up as a kid. It was one thing that really took a grip on me. — Andy Serkis

In 'Tintin,' it's like a live-action role. You're living and breathing and making decisions for that character from page 1 to page 120, the whole emotional arc. In an animated movie, it's a committee decision. There are 50 people creating that character. You're responsible for a small part. — Andy Serkis

Gollum is my picture of Dorian Gray. He will be with me for the rest of life, and I will grow to look more like him as I get older. — Andy Serkis

I don't want to play a voice. — Andy Serkis

Did you happen to catch the film I did between 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Kong?' It was a nice little Jennifer Garner comedy, '13 Going on 30,' and I play her boss. In my big scene, I get to moonwalk - pretty well, I thought - to Michael Jackson. — Andy Serkis

Actors' performances in films are enhanced in a million different ways, down to the choice of camera shot by the director - whether it's in slow motion or whether it's quick cut - or ... the choice of music behind the close-up or the costume that you're wearing or the makeup. — Andy Serkis

I think I spend most of my time not living in reality, actually. — Andy Serkis

Working with and collaborating with and for Peter Jackson was an incredible experience because he is such a phenomenal filmmaker. — Andy Serkis

I can get on with all different sorts of people, and I never feel homesick, particularly, or I've never felt kind of patriotic towards any one country. — Andy Serkis

The fact of the matter is that an actor, if I'm playing a performance capture role and you're playing a live action role and we're having a scene together, there's no difference in our acting processes. — Andy Serkis

I'm working from home a lot. That's very unusual because I'm away a lot, sometimes working on the other side of the world for long periods of time. So, it's hard to manage in the sense that I want to be the best dad I can be but it's almost harder when you have your kids outside the door. — Andy Serkis

You can't just come up with an idea for a game and stick the drama on top. It all has to be one driving thrust. — Andy Serkis

I remember kind of doing early acting and thinking, 'God, they don't paint behind the sets.' It's a bit of a shame, really - 'Oh, what's on the other side of this wall? Oh, you can see the plywood.' I was really disappointed. I just thought that these things were real, from watching things as a kid. — Andy Serkis

Performance capture is a tool that young actors will need in the next 10, 20 years. It's on the increase, as you say. It's not going away. — Andy Serkis

Nowadays, there's no such thing as a stable job. — Andy Serkis

I'm in the early stages of a film called 'Freezing Time' about Eadweard Muybridge, the Victorian photographer who was really the forefather of cinema. Digital animators still treat his images like the Bible. He was a very obsessed man. — Andy Serkis

You're watching your kids playing football, and you're not present. It's like the worst ... it's horrible. I despise myself for it. I think it's a particularly male thing. Being present and in the moment with your kids is something a lot of men struggle with. — Andy Serkis

I think the actors in 'Greystoke' were amazing. They had a really good performance coach called Peter Elliott who's, of his time, one of the greatest simian performance coaches for actors. — Andy Serkis

J.J. Abrams is an all-time hero of mine, really lovely to be working with him. — Andy Serkis

You don't really think about 3D when you're acting. As a director, you do. — Andy Serkis