Andy Serkis says performance-capture acting is misunderstood

Andy Serkis says performance-capture acting is still misunderstood, arguing that digitally transformed performances deserve the same recognition as work beneath physical prosthetics. The actor, best known as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films, is due to reprise the role in a new film scheduled for December 2027.

“This technology is so misunderstood,” Serkis told The Times, according to Nieuws.nl. He said he used to spend hours explaining that performance capture was “real acting”, but had become more moderate about making the case.

The technique records an actor’s performance and uses digital effects, including computer-generated imagery, to alter their appearance. Serkis compared that process with make-up teams creating physical prosthetics, such as those used in *The Elephant Man*. A performance behind a physical mask was, he said, easier for some people to understand than one behind a digital mask.

Serkis has also used performance capture to play Kong in *King Kong* and Caesar in the *Planet of the Apes* trilogy. He is set to return as Gollum in *The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum*, which Nieuws.nl says is scheduled for December 2027 and follows the search for the creature after the events of *The Hobbit* trilogy. Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Lee Pace are also due to reprise their roles.