(Cover) - EN Movies - Andy Serkis views computer-generated roles the same as live action ones.
The British actor is famed for roles including Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the title role in the 2005 King Kong remake.
The award-winning star, who was computer generated for both of these roles, is starring as Caesar in the new Planet of the Apes film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The science fiction movie will act as a foundation with an origin story for a new film series.
Andy plays the ape from childhood through to his adult life, and says he relied on performance capture technology in order to realistically portray the character. Despite being digitally altered, the Hollywood star views the computer-generated roles in the same vein as live action ones.
"They can make you any size. When I was playing King Kong I was 25 foot tall, or Gollum when I was three and a half foot tall," he explained in an interview with BBC Breakfast. "The thing is, I never really think of acting for performance capture technology any different to on screen live action role. In terms of the acting process, there's an interface on screen between the other characters, the live action actors like James Franco and Freida Pinto. They're not just acting against this tennis ball with a stick where they have to pretend. It's a very pure form of acting."
Andy says his complex character was very interesting to play. The 47-year-old was particularly intrigued that there was no dialect in the movie.
"They communicate via sign language. Basically I play Caesar the main ape character who is hand reared. He is brought home by Will, played by James Franco, and reared as a human being, so he's very confused, he's almost like a Frankenstein's monster," he mused. "He feels like a human within an ape's skin. There's no dialogue." (C) Cover Media