The Lord of the Rings changed Hollywood’s landscape in many ways, including its use of motion capture for Gollum/Smeagol. While the film technique is far more common than we realize now (for example, Cocaine Bear’s bear was played by an actor), it wasn’t always so. Andy Serkis, who played the little, obsessive monster in the LOTR movies, went through extensive prep and training for the series, only to be laughed at by director Peter Jackson.
Before Serkis officially gears up for his contribution to the 2025 movie schedule, an animated adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, he reunited with some fellow LOTR alum. During the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo’s Lord of the Rings reunion panel (via Collider), Serkis recalled his first day on set as Gollum. Though it isn’t the first time he’s recounted being mocked for motion capture acting, his delayed start date behind the rest of the production could’ve affected people’s reactions. As he prepared for his first on-set shot from Return of the King, people started eyeing him, and eventually, he even elicited a laugh from Jackson:
Film is all shot out of order, and my first scene was 765 of film 3, and I remember crawling onto the set, and sort of becoming Gollum with my thin Lycra suit on, and then getting into character. And then Peter Jackson laughing at me. All the crew were kind of going, ‘Who is that guy, and what the hell is he doing here? Can you get him out of shot because we want to shoot here.’ I don’t think anybody really knew what I was doing there on the very first day.
There are a few things to recap, but first and foremost, it’s a bummer that other performers didn’t (and still maybe don’t) recognize how much commitment it takes. Albeit, this was in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, and this Hollywood technology was not a common sight, and Serkis arrived later than everyone.
On the other hand, if the cast and crew were familiar with author J.R.R. Tolkien, they’d know this little gremlin would bound to show himself on set one way or another (thank goodness Gollum wasn’t a completely animated overlay). What I’m most surprised at, though, is that Jackson chuckled at Andy Serkis. Was he that good or was it that jarring to see someone acting like that for the first time?
Regardless, the once Hobbit’s legacy has been cemented in Hollywood history and paved the way for the type of films and the character itself. Who knows if projects like James Cameron’s Avatar franchise would’ve exploded like they did or have Zoe Saldana be one of mocap movies’ biggest advocates, even if it does look off-kilter on set, if it weren’t for Serkis’ work on LOTR? All of that said, the recent announcement of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum getting greenlit speaks to all of this, including Serkis’ talent.
Jackson is pairing up with the Smeagol/Gollum actor for the new LOTR prequel, which is slated for 2027. After getting delayed in production, it remains to be seen if other former LOTR actors will reprise their roles just yet. The reason for the Gollum spinoff movie, according to the pair, is that the duality of the monster has a lot left unexplored, per Tolkien’s appendices from The Fellowship of the Ring. While who will be returning with Serkis for the LOTR prequel surrounding Gollum is up in the air, many alumni have weighed in (Mortensen was unclear, Bloom seems open to join, and McKellen has doubts about being cast due to age).
One thing is clear: Serkis and Gollum’s motion capture legacy is no longer a laughing matter to anyone, including Peter Jackson. Watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy with a Max subscription.
