Andy Serkis can currently be seen in the latest Marvel venture, Black Panther, as the villainous Ulysses Klaue. He would, however, be best-known for his motion capture performace work, which began with Gollum/Smeagol in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and culminated with his stunning performance as Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy.
While its final installment, War for the Planet of the Apes, earned an Oscar nod for Best Visual Effects, it failed to secure any other nominations.
Asked by ScreenCrush if he was disappointed the film wasn’t recognised in other categories, Serkis said: “Definitely. I do think in terms of performance, there are some extraordinary performances in it from Karin Konoval to Steve Zahn, who played Bad Ape. You know, Woody Harrelson in that was terrific too.
“I think it was overlooked, I have to say, and I’m very biased because it’s a film that’s very close to my heart. I do think that Matt [Reeves]‘s direction and storytelling and what that film means and is, I think was given short shrift really. I think it’s an important movie, really.”
Discussing whether he thinks motion capture performances will be recognised in the future, Serkis was hopeful, especially in relation to the standard that has come out this year.
“The Academy [have] written emails to the acting branch saying we have to now acknowledge performance in the broadest sense,” he said. “So performance-capture, voice talent acting. And they’re asking the question: What is the epitome or the essence of a great performance? It doesn’t just have to mean seeing an actor’s face on screen. It can be manifested using performance-capture. So they’re absolutely on top of it.”
He praised the performance of Doug Jones in The Shape of Water and argued that a performance such as his won’t be “overlooked” in the future.
