Why Andy Serkis is the Greatest Actor of His Generation
Released on 07/03/2014
(piano music)
(train whistling)
You don't have any friends.
Nobody likes you.
Not listening, I'm not listening.
You're a liar and a thief.
Andy Serkis is the greatest actor of his generation.
The ruling maestro of Mo-cap.
Emoting with his whole body
so that his performance can be captured
and transferred onto a digital character.
He played the dual roles of Gollum and Smeagol
in the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit movies.
He was a hilarious Captain Haddock in
the Adventures of Tin Tin.
He was heartbreaking as King Kong.
He was terrific playing multiple roles in the
criminally overlooked 2009 game
Enslaved Odyssey to the West.
Seriously, go buy it, it's like seven dollars at GameStop.
And he's why the simian Cesar in the
new Apes franchise is so sympathetic.
So I'm watching Dawn of the Apes thinking two things.
One, this new Apes franchise is so much better
than the ludicrous mid 1970s movies they're based on.
And two, it's an outrage that
Serkis hasn't won an Oscar yet.
Why isn't he getting recognized?
Is it because you can't see him on screen?
John Hurt was nominated for Elephant Man
and he was buried in makeup or
wearing a bag over his head for a whole film.
There was even talk of giving Scarlett Johanssen
a nod for the movie Her.
And we only hear her voice.
Performance Capture has been around for decades now.
Long enough to tell the good performances from the bad ones.
If the Academy is too short-sighted
to recognized synthespian excellence,
I will step up and create my own Mo-Cap Academy.
We'll hold an annual ceremony to honor
outstanding achievement in Performance Capture.
I'm calling the award the Serky.
Instead of a red carpet, we'll have a green carpet, huh?
The best part, no one actually has to attend in person.
And if Joan Rivers makes fun of anyone's outfit,
we'll just swap in a new one in post.
(electronic music)
What role would you like to see Serkis tackle next?
I'm hoping he adds menace and gravitas
to Skeletor in the Masters of the Universe reboot.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Starring: Chris Baker
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