Profile of Andy Serkis on Famous Like Me

Andy Serkis (born April 20, 1964) is a British actor who was born and brought up in Ruislip, London, England. He is best known for 'playing' Gollum by providing the voice and movements for the CGI character in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy (2001–2003). He is also providing the movements for a CGI King Kong in LOTR director Peter Jackson's remake currently in production. He has played over 30 other roles in film and television productions through his career.

Selected Filmography

• Stormbreaker (2006)
• Flushed Away (2006) (voice)
• King Kong (2005)
• 13 Going On 30 (2004)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
• Deathwatch (2002)
• 24 Hour Party People (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• Pandaemonium (2000)
• Arabian Nights (2000) (miniseries)
• Oliver Twist (1999) (miniseries)
• Topsy-Turvy (1999)

Trivia

• His father was a doctor in Iraq.
• His mother taught disabled children.
• He went to St Benedict's School, London, England.
• He is a graduate of Lancaster University, where he chose Theatre Studies as a second option.
• He has three children, two sons and a daughter.
• He is a vegetarian.
• He was originally only cast for the voice of Gollum but the LOTR crew were so impressed with his facial expressions and acting when making the voice that he eventually got to play the whole character.
• He was required to don a wetsuit and flail around in literally freezing water during reshoots for The Two Towers.
• Because his character in The Two Towers was computer-generated, he was ruled ineligible for a Best Supporting Actor award at the 2003 Academy Awards. He does however make an appearance in person, as Sméagol before he becomes Gollum, in The Return of the King, and therefore became eligible for the 2004 award. In the event, he was not nominated for it.
• He owns the prop One Ring used in The Two Towers, given to him by director Jackson, so in a sense Gollum has finally acquired his "precious."
• Serkis made a guest appearance on The Simpsons. In the episode, he voiced a Gollum-like character named "Cleanie" who called garbage his "precious".
• One of his chief hobbies is mountain climbing, so he was especially proud to have met Sir Edmund Hillary, part of the first team to climb Mount Everest, during principal photography for The Lord of the Rings in New Zealand.

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