Mt. Rushmore- Andy Serkis
In my opinion, Andy Serkis is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. Reason being? I would assume it’s because many of his early & most well-known roles were motion capture, so Serkis’s face wasn’t seen. However, he is definitively the greatest motion capture of all-time, and has since proved he can work without the effects as well. In this article I’m going to highlight what I consider his top 4 best roles, but first I’d like to honorably mention some honorable mentions. Some of his motion capture roles that didn’t make the list include: Captain Haddock in ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ & Baloo in ‘Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle,’ while some live action roles include: Alfred in ‘The Batman,’ Ulysses Klaue in the MCU, Richard Kneeland in ‘13 Going on 30,’ & Kino Loy in ‘Andor.’
Caesar in the 'Planet of the Apes' trilogy- Starting off strong we have the leader of the ape revolution. Serkis's Caesar starts off as a fairly normal chimpanzee with high intelligence but gains the ability to speak, think, & lead and he leads a revolution of apes over humankind that leads to a rise, a dawn, and a war. Despite him being directly responsible for the fall of mankind, Caesar is by no means a villain, and actually never wanted to eradicate humanity, just coexist with them. Serkis brings perfect movements to the character and also does a great job showing the character's evolution.
King Kong in 'King Kong'- From one ape to another, Peter Jackson's 'King Kong' came out in 2005 with Serkis taking on the title role. This s another example of Serkis acting with his body more than his face or voice, executing realistic ape movements for the gigantic gorilla. Serkis also has a cameo role as Lumpy, the expedition's cook, in a role in which his face can be seen.
Supreme Leader Snoke in the 'Star Wars' sequel trilogy- Though many fans feel that Snoke's arc is ultimately disappointing (just like the films themselves), Serkis brings a great performance. In 'The Force Awakens' we first see Snoke as a massive, mysterious hologram that leads the First Order and has an intriguing relationship with Kylo Ren. In the second film his connection to the dark side is expounded upon and though he is ultimately killed
Gollum in 'The Lord of the Rings'- Serkis played his most iconic role in four different outings. Each film in the LOTR trilogy and in the first of 'The Hobbit' films. The character and Serkis not only brought a popular book character to life, but also completely redefined CGI & motion capture. Serkis brings the physicality, facial expressions, and vocal tendencies of the creature formerly known as Smeagol brilliantly in what is one of the best acting jobs in Middle-Earth. Serkis also has done audio book recording of the the four books that I would highly recommend.
