[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/serkis_and_gollum_6412.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Andy Serkis and his precious.]]

->''"[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings LotR]] launched the career of one man, who must now wear skintight Spandex and face dots for the rest of his life."''
-->-- ''' WebVideo/HonestTrailers''', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOIi9SjJvgU The Lord of the Rings]]''

[[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere Describe Andy Serkis]] here, ''prrrecious.''

Andrew "Andy" Clement Serkis[[note]]His ancestors' original surname was "Sarkisian"[[/note]] (born 20 April 1964 in Ruislip Manor, England) is an English actor, painter, and director of English, Iraqi and Armenian descent.

As a child, Serkis wanted to be an artist; he was fond of painting and drawing, and visualized himself working behind the scenes in productions. He studied visual arts at Lancaster University, where he became involved in mechanical aspects of the theatre and did stage design and set building for theatrical productions. Then, Serkis was asked to play a role in a student production, and made his stage debut in Barrie Keefe's play ''Gotcha''; thereafter, he switched from stage design to acting, which was a real calling that transformed his life.

In 1999, Andy Serkis [[StarMakingRole landed the prize role]] of Gollum/Smeagol in Creator/PeterJackson's epic film trilogy based on Creator/JRRTolkien's saga ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', which quickly made him the best-known motion capture performer in the movie industry, and the TropeNamer for SerkisFolk. He spent four years on the part and received awards and nominations for his performance as Gollum, a computer-generated character in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'' (2002) and ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'' (2003), which won eleven [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscars]].[[note]] Many people feel Serkis should've at least been nominated for an Oscar for his performance as Gollum, but the Academy jury is still out on whether SerkisFolk performances are acting in the traditional sense that might fall under acting award criteria, instead of lesser special effects categories.[[/note]] Notably, Gollum/Smeagol's distinct voices were achieved with little to no computer trickery -- Serkis can and does do them at live appearances. Serkis also used this art form in his performances as Kong in ''Film/{{King Kong|2005}}''[[note]]This role won him a Toronto Film Critics Association Award (2005) for his unprecedented work helping to realize the main character, and a Visual Effects Society Award (2006) for Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture[[/note]] and Caesar in the 2010s ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' [[ContinuityReboot reboot]] trilogy.

In 2011, Serkis parleyed his experience into the foundation of his own visual effects studio, The Imaginarium, which specialises in providing performance capture for motion capture characters in films, TV, and video games.

At the end of 2018, he made a return to make a [[https://youtu.be/Tjp5OmoDYQM satirical video]] crossdressing as British Prime Minister UsefulNotes/TheresaMay while acting in-personality as Gollum and Smeagol as a TakeThat to her Brexit strategy.

Serkis married actress and singer Lorraine Ashbourne in 2002, and the couple have three children: daughter [[Creator/RubyAshbourneSerkis Ruby]] (b. 1998), and two sons, Sonny (b. 2000) and Louis George (b. 2004). Louis is an actor himself, and starred in ''Film/TheKidWhoWouldBeKing''.

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!!Selected works:
* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Adventures of Tintin|2011}}'': Captain Haddock
* Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium film adaptations as Gollum (formerly Smeagol)
** ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''
*** ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers''
*** ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing''
** ''Film/TheHobbit''
*** ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney''
* ''Film/{{Deathwatch|2002}}'': Private Thomas Quinn
* ''WesternAnimation/FlushedAway'': Spike (voice only)
* ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'': Caesar
** ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes''
** ''Film/WarForThePlanetOfTheApes''
* ''Film/BurkeAndHare'': William Hare
* ''Film/ThePrestige'': Alley
* ''Film/{{Inkheart}}'': Capricorn
* ''Literature/AlexRider'': Mr. Grin
* ''Film/{{King Kong|2005}}'': King Kong and Lumpy
* ''{{Theatre/Othello}}'': Iago
* ''Series/ArabianNights'': Kasim
* ''Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll'': Ian Dury
* ''Film/TwentyFourHourPartyPeople'': Martin Hannett
* ''Film/{{Godzilla|2014}}'': Godzilla [[note]]Motion capture in some scenes[[/note]]
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse: Ulysses Klaue
** ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''
** ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}''
** ''[[WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021 What If...?]]'' (voice only)
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** ''Film/TheForceAwakens'': [[Characters/StarWarsSnoke Supreme Leader Snoke]]
** ''Film/TheLastJedi'': Supreme Leader Snoke
** ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'': Supreme Leader Snoke (voice only)
** ''Series/{{Andor}}'': Kino Loy
* ''Breathe'' [[note]]first film released as director[[/note]]
* ''Film/{{Mowgli}}'' [[note]]his directorial debut, though due to delays it was released after ''Breathe''[[/note]]: Baloo
* ''Series/{{A Christmas Carol|2019}}'': The Ghost of Christmas Past
* ''Series/HomeMovieThePrincessBride'': Count Rugen
* ''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'' [[note]]directing only[[/note]]
* ''Film/{{The Batman|2022}}'': Alfred Pennyworth
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!!Audio Roles:
* Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's production of C.S. Lewis's ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters'': Screwtape
* [[AudioAdaptation Audiobook]] versions of J.R.R. Tolkien's ''Literature/TheHobbit'', ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', and ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' for [=HarperCollins=].
* ''AudioPlay/TheSandman2020'': Matthew the Raven
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!!Video Game Roles:
* ''VideoGame/HeavenlySword''[[note]]Mocap performances also done in collaboration with WETA Digital[[/note]]: King Bohan
* ''VideoGame/EnslavedOdysseyToTheWest'': Monkey
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!!Andy Serkis and his works provide examples of:
* ChronicallyKilledActor: If it doesn't happen in the first movie, it'll happen in one of the sequels. Don't get too attached if he's playing a hyped-up villain.
* ClusterBleepBomb: In character as Gollum. As Sméagol protests. And Serkis himself looks on in horror. It is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRn_FlDKITU glorious]]. It was written by Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh.[[note]] Which just makes the [[TakeThatUs extended rant thrown Peter Jackson's way even funnier.]] For context, Walsh and Boyens have written every Middle-Earth movie with Jackson.[[/note]]
* EvilSoundsDeep: Despite his most famous role being [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings a high-pitched talkative loon]], he is perfectly capable of using this trope as well, such as Snoke from ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' and ''Film/TheLastJedi''.
* FieldPromotion[=/=]YouAreInCommandNow: As the second unit director for ''Film/TheHobbit''.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Researched gorillas in the wild in order to get a better insight on playing one of them in ''King Kong''. He soon learned that it's not that simple: like humans, gorillas are all individuals with unique personalities, and that there's really no such thing as a "typical" gorilla:
-->'''Serkis:''' When you talk about studying gorillas, what you're really doing is studying people. You can have, say, a very loving gorilla, or a very mean gorilla, or a very uptight gorilla, or a very relaxed gorilla. Which got me wondering at that point, "Okay, so who is Kong?" It didn't narrow down the field; it opened it up.
* HotDrinkCure: He's remarked in interviews that playing Gollum caused him vocal strain until his speech coach developed a concoction of honey, lemon, ginger, and hot tea, which they dubbed "Gollum Juice." The hot beverage, consumed "by the bucketload," saved Serkis's voice.
* InkSuitActor: King Bohan in ''VideoGame/HeavenlySword''.
* ManOfAThousandVoices: More like Man of a Thousand ''[[SerkisFolk Bodies]]'', but let's put it this way: Would ''you'' have guessed that [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin2011 Captain Haddock]], [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]], and [[Film/TheForceAwakens Supreme Leader]] [[Film/TheLastJedi Snoke]] were all voiced by the same person?
* PlayingAgainstType: Though he's primarily known for his motion-capture and/or voice acting work, Serkis has played a few live-action non-mocap roles over the course of his career, such as [[Film/BlackPanther2018 Ulysses Klaue]], [[Film/TheBatman2022 Alfred Pennyworth]] and [[Series/{{Andor}} Kino Loy]].
* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: When given the opportunity to come back to Middle Earth as Gollum in ''The Hobbit'', became the second unit director, as well.
* SerkisFolk: The TropeNamer, naturally, after his pioneering work in Creator/PeterJackson's ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''.
* [[ShakespearianActors Shakespearian Actor]]: Perhaps most notably via his performance as [[Theatre/{{Othello}} Iago]] in 2002.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Has co-starred with Creator/JamieBell in ''Deathwatch'', ''King Kong'', and ''Tintin''.
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