Andy Serkis
Andy Serkis | |
---|---|
Born | Andrew Clement Serkis 20 April 1964 Ruislip Manor, Middlesex, England |
Alma mater | Lancaster University |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1985–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 3, including Ruby and Louis |
Awards | Full list |
Andrew Clement Serkis (2022).
Serkis' film work in motion capture has been critically acclaimed.
Serkis portrayed
Early life
Serkis was born on 20 April 1964 in
Serkis was educated at
Having agreed to act in a couple of productions towards the end of his first year, Serkis played the lead role in Barrie Keeffe's play Gotcha as a rebellious teenager holding a teacher hostage. As a result, he changed his major subject to acting, constructing his Independent Studies Degree around acting and set design, studying Konstantin Stanislavski and Bertolt Brecht, and including minor modules in art and visual graphics.[18] In his final year at Lancaster he adapted Raymond Briggs's graphic novel The Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman, a satire about the Falklands War, as a one-man show, which he performed to acclaim.[19]
Career
In his third year at university, Serkis joined the backstage team at the local
After 16 months, and having gained his Equity card, Serkis joined a series of touring companies, including productions of:
Serkis first came to wide public notice for his performance as
Serkis has performed motion-capture work in several other films, including the title character in the 2005 version of King Kong (in which he also played the ship's cook in live-action) and as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). He also worked with game developers Ninja Theory on the 2007 release Heavenly Sword, providing the motion capture and voice for King Bohan (the game's main villain).[26][27]
In 2006, Serkis starred as
Serkis reunited with Peter Jackson, as a cast member in Jackson's and
In 2009, Serkis voiced the role of the demon
In January 2011, it was confirmed that Serkis would reprise the role of Gollum in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey the first film in the three-part The Hobbit films. It was released in 2012, and the follow-ups were released in 2013 and 2014.[38] He was also the trilogy's second unit director, which included directing aerial shots and battle scenes.[14] He was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2012 along with 175 other individuals.[39] In 2014, Serkis reprised his role as Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,[27] and again in 2017 for War for the Planet of the Apes, the last of the trilogy.[40]
In
In late 2015, it was announced that Serkis was working on a modern film adaptation of Rumpelstiltskin, titled Steelskin.[48] In addition to starring in the film, Serkis will serve as producer and director.[48]
Serkis received a
The Imaginarium Studios
In 2011, Serkis founded The Imaginarium Studios with film producer Jonathan Cavendish. The Imaginarium is a production company and creative digital studio based in Ealing, London and is dedicated to invention of believable, emotionally engaging digital characters using Performance Capture technology, in which Serkis specialises.[51] On 20 October 2012, the studio acquired rights to The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon and a new motion capture adaptation of Animal Farm,[52] which Serkis has confirmed is his next film he will be directing.[53]
Directing
Serkis has served as the second unit director for The Hobbit films and made his directorial debut with Breathe. He also directed and starred in the film, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.[54] In 2021, Serkis directed the sequel to Venom, titled, Venom: Let There Be Carnage. It was released on 1 October in the US and 15 October in the UK.[55][56] In 2022, he was set to direct Animal Farm an animated adaptation of George Orwell's novel of the same name.[57]
Other activities
Serkis made an appearance in the music video for Neneh Cherry's "Woman", portraying an abusive boyfriend, in 1996.[58] After portraying Gollum in The Lord of the Rings series, he published a memoir about his experiences, titled Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic, published in late 2004. In 2015, Serkis collaborated with rock band Coldplay in the making of the music video for "Adventure of a Lifetime". The group performed as chimpanzees with Serkis acting as a motion-capture consultant.[59]
In December 2018, he appeared in a video for People's Vote as UK Prime Minister Theresa May using the voice of Gollum, spoofing May's Brexit deal.[60][61] He also appears in the BBC Earth programme, Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors.[62]
Serkis, together with fellow Lord of the Rings castmates Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban and Elijah Wood, plus writer Philippa Boyens and director Peter Jackson, on 1 May 2020 joined Josh Gad's YouTube series Reunited Apart, which reunites the cast of popular movies through video-conferencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and promotes donations to non-profit charities.[63]
During the COVID-19 lockdown, on
On 7 July 2021, HarperCollinsUK and Recorded Books announced Serkis would follow up his narration of The Hobbit with a professional recording of all three The Lord of the Rings novels that were released on 16 September.[67] The CDs were released on 14 October 2021.[68]
Serkis and producer Andrew Levitas will release a seven-part comic book series in 2022, titled Eternus, about Heracles, the son of Zeus, trying to identify Zeus's killer. The series will be published by Thunder Books.[69]
In 2023 he starred in the Netflix Film Luther: The Fallen Sun, based on the BBC TV Series Luther, playing a psychopathic killer.[70][71]
In 2022, Serkis recorded a new audiobook version of the Terry Pratchett Discworld book "Small Gods" with Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz.[72]
Personal life
Serkis was born to
Serkis married actress Lorraine Ashbourne in July 2002. He lives in Crouch End, North London with Ashbourne and their three children: Ruby (b. 1998), Sonny (b. 2000) and Louis (b. 2004), all of whom are actors.[14][73] Louis and Ruby starred in the 2019 film The Kid Who Would Be King and the 2020 Netflix series The Letter for the King respectively. Serkis also starred alongside Ruby, and they played father and daughter.[74] Louis also voiced Bhoot in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, which was directed by and co-starred his father as Baloo.[75]
Filmography and accolades
Year | Title | Distribution |
---|---|---|
2017 | Breathe | Bleecker Street |
2018 | Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle | Netflix |
2021 | Venom: Let There Be Carnage | Sony Pictures Releasing
|
TBA | Animal Farm | TBA |
Selected theatre
- The Porter in Macbeth. Directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1988)
- Tony Lumpkin in She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith. Directed by James Maxwell at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1990)
- Sean Grogan in Your Home in the West by Rod Wooden. World premiere directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1991)
- Doctor Jan Heart in Doctor Heart by Peter Muller. English premiere directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1991)
- David in Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love by Brad Fraser. Directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1995)
- Iago in Othello. Directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (2002)[76]
See also
References
- ^ "Serkis, Andy". British Film Institute. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ "Mr Andrew Clement Serkis". Levelbusiness.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ Clark, Nick (16 November 2014). "Oscars debate for computerised stars makes a monkey out of movie actors". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 3 December 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Clark, Nick (6 November 2014). "Should Oscar go to Andy Serkis or the computer that turned him into an ape?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Robey, Tim (8 November 2014). "Does Andy Serkis's motion capture acting deserve an Oscar?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Andy Serkis to be honoured at the 2020 EE British Academy Film Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ a b Cordero, Rosy (18 July 2021). "Alex Trebek, Zac Efron, Karrueche Tran, More, Announced As Daytime Emmy Fiction & Lifestyle Winners—Complete Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d Shoard, Catherine (16 March 2008). "Andy Serkis: Beastie boy". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 July 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
- ^ a b c McGrath, Nick (6 March 2021). "Andy Serkis: 'I used to walk on all fours preparing to be Gollum'". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- TheOneRing.net. Archivedfrom the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
- ^ a b c Moorhead, Joanna (13 December 2008). "My family values; Andy Serkis, actor". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ Nepales, Ruben V. (6 July 2007). "Only in Hollywood Andy Serkis: From Gollum, King Kong to Einstein". Philippine Daily Inquirer. p. F2. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2010 – via Google News.
- ^ "Cher, Kim Kardashian and Andre Agassi: Armenia's A-list diaspora". the Guardian. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Mottram, James (7 December 2012). "Gollum's precious moments: Andy Serkis's unexpected journey from The Lord of the Rings to The Hobbit". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
- ^ "From Lancaster to Middle-earth". Lancaster University. 11 December 2014. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
- ^ Lynn, Iain (14 November 2019). "Andy Serkis lands role as Alfred in new Batman film". Lancashire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ Kermode, Mark (15 January 2018). "Andy Serkis Selects The Red Shoes" (PDF). British Academy Film Awards. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ P., Ken (27 January 2003). "An Interview with Andy Serkis (page 1)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ Aftab, Kaleem (25 October 2017). "Andy Serkis interview: How a colleague's family history led to his directorial debut". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ a b P., Ken (27 January 2003). "An Interview with Andy Serkis (page 2)". IGN. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ P., Ken (27 January 2003). "An Interview with Andy Serkis (page 3)". IGN. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ "Topsy-Turvy – Full Cast & Crew", TV Guide. Retrieved 24 October 2022
- ^ Rosenfeld, Megan (7 October 2000). "A Grand 'Twist' For Oliver". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ "Win tickets to The Jolly Boys' Last Stand". The Guardian. 10 August 2000. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ Poole, Oliver (10 February 2003). "Can Gollum get the precious Oscar nod?". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ a b Child, Ben (9 January 2012). "James Franco calls for Andy Serkis Oscar recognition for mo-cap turn". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ a b Burr, Ty (10 July 2014). "Andy Serkis breathes life into 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ Smith, Neil (10 July 2008). "Heroes to air near to US premiere". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
- ^ Gilbert, Matthew (27 March 2009). "Dickens meets 'Lost' in PBS's 'Little Dorrit'". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ Hogan, Mike (27 April 2010). "Andy Serkis Mines Ian Dury's C-Word-ishness in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Fernandez, Jay A.; Kit, Borys (26 January 2009). "Anchors aweigh for 'Tintin'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
- ^ Anderson, Martin (15 February 2008). "Andy Serkis interview: Robert Rankin, The Hobbit, Tintin & more!". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on 22 January 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ "About the Audio Drama". Screwtape.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ Barton, Steve (20 January 2010). "New Burke and Hare Casting News". Dread Central. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ Miska, Brad (29 June 2010). "Andy Serkis Grabs a Banana and Becomes King of 'Planet of the Apes'". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ Arnott, Jack (8 November 2010). "Andy Serkis on Enslaved and acting in video games". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ^ Chester, Nick (27 September 2010). "Interview: Ninja Theory's Tameem Antoniades on Enslaved". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ^ Child, Ben (11 January 2011). "Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis sign up for The Hobbit". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^ "Academy Invites 176 to Membership". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- ^ Scott, A. O. (12 July 2017). "Review: New 'Planet of the Apes' Makes You Root Against Your Species". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ IGN (4 April 2014). "Godzilla: Andy Serkis on Mo Cap & Monster's Motives — WonderCon 2014". YouTube. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ IGN (4 April 2014). "Godzilla Director on Making the Monster Scary Again — IGN Conversations". YouTube. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ Stern, Marlow (14 July 2014). "Motion Capture Maestro Andy Serkis on 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' and Revolutionizing Cinema". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ Lovett, Jamie (12 July 2021). "Marvel Actor Teases MCU Return In Upcoming Project". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Star Wars: Episode VII Cast Announced". StarWars.com. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (28 November 2017). "Steven Knight To Adapt Charles Dickens Novels For BBC One; Ridley Scott, Tom Hardy Exec Producing". Deadline. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ Aguilar, Matthew (13 November 2019). "Batman Director Confirms Andy Serkis as Alfred". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ Vulture.com. Archivedfrom the original on 16 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Kit, Borys (13 September 2021). "Cynthia Erivo, Andy Serkis Join Idris Elba, Neil Cross in 'Luther' Movie for Netflix (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ Makuch, Eddie (7 April 2023). "Andor Actor Andy Serkis Discusses Kino Loy's Fate As Fans Hope For Answers In Season 2". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ "Who We Are". The Imaginarium Studios. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
- ^ "Andy Serkis: from Gollum to studio boss". Financial Times. 20 October 2012. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ Richmond, Martin (29 September 2021). "Venom 2 Director Andy Serkis Reveals His Next Project". Small Screen. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ McNary, Dave (20 March 2014). "Andy Serkis to Direct 'Jungle Book' for Warner Bros". Variety. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (30 March 2021). "'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' Release Date Pushed Back A Week". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Sandwell, Ian; Geisinger, Gabriella; Armitage, Hugh (10 September 2021). "Venom 2 Let There be Carnage release date, cast and more". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ Grobar, Matt. "Andy Serkis Directing Animated Adaptation Of George Orwell Classic 'Animal Farm' Penned By Nicholas Stoller". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Andy Serkis Recalls Miming Dangerously In Neneh Cherry's Music Video For 'Woman' | PeopleTV, retrieved 7 September 2021
- Billboard.com. Archivedfrom the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Simpson, George (9 December 2018). "Andy Serkis reprises Gollum for Theresa May Brexit deal parody". The Express. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Gollum star Andy Serkis releases hilarious Brexit deal parody of Theresa May". The Mirror. 9 December 2018. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors" Archived 5 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. BBC. Retrieved 4 February 2019
- ^ O'Kane, Caitlin (1 June 2020). "Actor Josh Gad reunites stars of "Lord of the Rings" while raising money for kids in need". CBS News. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Andy Serkis reads entire Hobbit live online for charity". BBC News. 9 May 2020. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ @HarperCollinsUK (2 July 2020). "We are delighted to announce the release of a brand-new audiobook of The Hobbit, read by @andyserkis" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020 – via Twitter.
- ISBN 978-0008439415.
- ^ Bayley, Sian (7 July 2021). "Andy Serkis records Lord of the Rings audiobooks for HarperCollins | The Bookseller". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ Williams, Tommy (12 July 2021). "Andy Serkis Is Narrating a New Audiobook Version of THE LORD OF THE RINGS". GeekTyrant. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ Cornelius, Luke (30 September 2021). "Andy Serkis and Andrew Levitas Team for "Eternus"". Multiversity Comics. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ Yohannes, Alamin (11 March 2023). "Luther: The Fallen Sun villain Andy Serkis on his most disturbing scene: 'That made me sit up'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Sandwell, Ian (4 March 2023). "Luther: The Fallen Sun saw Andy Serkis take on his darkest role yet". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Sturgis, Fiona (27 May 2022). "Small Gods by Terry Pratchett audiobook review – terrifically narrated by Andy Serkis". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ "Andy Serkis as Gollum and Smeagol". AgeoftheRing.com. 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ Olsen, Mark (25 January 2019). "Joe Cornish on the Brexit parallels of 'The Kid Who Would be King'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ Cohn, Paulette (7 December 2018). "Exclusive Video: Andy Serkis and Son Louis Working Together on Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle". Parade. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- ^ Hickling, Alfred (18 September 2002). "Othello". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.