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Interview With Andy Serkis
Q: As a performer, when you talk about the mechanical aspects of the theater – like stage design
or set building, and so on and so forth – how does that aid you as an actor, as far as rounding you out?

ANDY: I'm really glad that I went that way, and didn't go to drama school. For instance, playing Gollum is a
classic example of where it's come into use. I've really enjoyed the whole technical aspect of it, and I've
kind of been more open to that than I think perhaps some other actors who might've been faced by it, or
might not have wanted to get involved in it. And I always tend to see acting roles as a part of a whole, and
how the character performs as a function of a story, and I think that's really important. Also, in my early years
of theater, I worked with a lot of people who kind of worked from that basis – that it really is all about
storytelling. I was lucky enough to work with people who had strong theories, you know?
Q: Is there also a greater understanding – especially when you're doing stage work – by having that background in having done
set design, or stage design yourself? Understanding more fully the world you're inhabiting?
 

ANDY: Yeah... I mean, certainly spatial awareness, and just being able to relate to different
environments – to understand the whole semiotic that you're sending out to an audience,
what you're relationship is within that space and so on.

Q: Which is interesting, based on your childhood background of moving quite a bit – of
visiting other lands...

ANDY: Yeah, I have to say, when I was a kid – when I used to go to the theater – I found
those worlds very magical. I remember, I think it was Little Shop of Horrors I saw as a kid,
and seeing how they painted the brickwork – wow, that was just so amazing. The way that the
brickwork was lit on the little shop, you know? It just looked gorgeous. It was very inviting.
And again, I obviously kind of wanted to escape somewhere.

Q: What's the difference between relating to it as someone in the audience and relating to it while having to act on a stage like that?

ANDY: I remember kind of doing early acting and thinking, "God, they don't paint behind the sets." It's a bit of a shame, really – "Oh, what's
on the other side of this wall? Oh, you can see the plywood." I was really disappointed. I just thought that these things were real, from
watching things as a kid ... That's the one thing about graduating to working on film, if you like, is that you have all the stimulation there,
for real. You're doing a lot of work on stage from your imagination – you are projecting that space out to the audience. You're doing a lot
of the creating, if you like.

Q: Would it have been harder to do a part like Gollum, not having stage experience?

ANDY: I think so, yeah. Most definitely, because what stage work teaches you is, of course, stamina – emotional and physical and
psychological stamina and concentration. You don't learn that amount of concentration on a film set... It's a different type of concentration.
But to play a role through two or three hours of a night, every night, and to prove it and to constantly evolve it over a period of a run is really
where an actor – I mean, I love going between doing theater and film, because it is like you do get your emotional ballast from doing theater,
and then you learn in theater, and you carry that with you into acting jobs on film.

Q: Do you think it's because theater is such an intense experience, whereas film is rather fragmented?

ANDY: Yeah, yeah... and also you're working on your own a lot. It's to do with energy and reciprocal energy, and actually that is why The
Lord of the Rings, in many ways, Peter's really done well at it – every actor that worked on Lord of the Rings kind of had that understanding
of reciprocal energy. I think, sometimes, actors on film do their performance in front of a camera, and then you do your bit, and they do their
bit, and there's nothing really going on between.

Q: Then it's back to the trailers, and a cigarette.

ANDY: Yeah, exactly. Whereas, for instance, being able to play Gollum with Elijah and Sean, and come up with all that stuff on those
locations and then go through all the technical processes and everything – I think I would have found it really difficult if I'd just done screen
work, because I wouldn't have found the physical vocabulary for the part, or all those things which really allow you to get deep down in a role.

Q: Do you think there's also a certain sense – I mean, you've done other film roles – would you say that there was more camaraderie on the set of Lord of the Rings than on the set of other films you've done?

ANDY: That's a good question. Lord of the Rings is so special anyway, because it took place on such a long period of time, and continues
to... although, see, for me – not only was it the principal photography, but then it was going into post-production. My circle of family increased
as the post-production stuff took off for me, because I worked with animators and motion-capture people. I went to a whole other realm,
really, over the last year. This year I'm going to be doing all the motion-capture and redoing every single scene again with the motion-capture
team on Return of the King. So it's a great camaraderie with the other actors, but I mean, with a huge amount of people.