We have put movie stars on pedestals since the very start of the silent film era. There are a great deal of actors and actresses that are more famous then our favorite sports stars, politicians, and titans of industry. Chances are high that more people know who Brad Pitt is then the starting quarterback of the defending world champion New England Patriots, the Prime Minister of Canada, or the richest person in the world. By the way they are Tom Brady, Justin Trudeau, and Bill Gates respectfully.
That being said, there is one leading man that you have probably seen many times, but have no idea who he is, or what he really looks like. That actor is Andy Serkis, and he has starred in some of the biggest blockbuster films in recent times. The question that you must be asking yourself at this point is who the heck is Andy Serkis? The answer may very well surprise you. Andy Serkis is a British actor and director that has been featured in movies such as The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, the 2005 version of King Kong, and The Planet Of The Apes reboot series just to name a few.
Serkis is far more then a character actor, although he has played some amazing characters. He has had leading or staring roles in all of the films that are listed above. So how come Andy Serkis is not famous? Why is he un-recognizable in his own movies? It is all thanks to performance-capture technology that enables him to play the role of Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings films, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Andy Serkis also plays the roles of King Kong, and Caesar in the Planet Of The Apes movies.
Unfortunately, performance-capture acting is considered second tier within Hollywood circles, which raises an interesting questions. Where would we be without Andy Serkis? Performance-capture, otherwise known as motion capture, may not actually exist. In the minimum the technology would not be nearly as good as it is today. The motion capture method incorporates a multiple part approach. First, live actor movements and motions are recorded. They are then layered over using computer animation to form the characters we seen on screen.
In the old days Andy Serkis would have been the actor in the monkey suit, but these days the animation is the monkey suit. That means Andy Serkis is still the actor, although that concept is a hard one to grasp for many people. In essence, when you are watching Caesar do his thing in the Planet Of The Apes movies, it is thanks to a combination of Andy Serkis and computer graphics. It is about time that Hollywood fully recognizes the star power of the actors in the motion capture Andy Serkis has an outstanding resume that includes playing many of our favorite movie characters.
According to Serkis, “it’s all to do with performance. Caesar and all the other computer-generated characters I have ever played are driven by one thing and that thing is acting. Audiences want to be moved by acting, not by a visual effect.” For example, when you see Caesar riding a horse in battle it is actually Serkis on that horse. The actor, not the animation makes the acting and the scene realistic. It is worth noting that no actor or actress has performed more leading roles in a motion capture suit then Andy Serkis. He is a true innovator of this acting format. That is exactly why we would be taking a long leap off of a short pier without him.
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