Andy Serkis Recalls How He Was Nearly Talked Out of Gollum Role in LOTR

Andy Serkis isn't just an actor. Thanks to his work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Black Panther star has made a name for himself asa motion-capture artist.

Speaking in an interview with Josh Gad in the actor's Reunited Apart YouTube series, Serkis decided to talk about his role as Gollum in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. Recalling how he had ben contacted for the role, Serkis revealed how he had been nearly talked out of taking the part.

Apparently, when Serkis had heard the news that Jackson and his team wanted him to do voice work for Golum, he had been in Prague working on an adaptation of Oliver Twist where his co-star advised him against taking the role.

"It was an interesting one. Because when I first heard from my agent this was happening, it was just like, ‘Andy, look, they're doing this amazing kind of film of Lord of the Rings down in New Zealand. They'd like to see you for a voice for a digital character,'" Serkis said during his interview with Gad. "I was like, ‘A what?' I remember I was in Prague working on an adaptation of Oliver Twist actually and I said to this other actor I was working with, ‘I think I may be going down to New Zealand to do this digital character.' He said, ‘Well, is your face going to be on screen?' I said, ‘No, it's not.' He said, ‘Mate, I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.'"

After playing Gollum, Serkis went on to deliver other major motion-capture performances. The actor worked on movies like King Kong, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and of course, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

It's a good thing that Serkis didn't listen to his buddy. If not, we wouldn't have had Gollum and Serkis wouldn't have had the motion-capture career that he has today.

Read: Agents of SHIELD Reveals How Captain America Super Soldier Serum was Made