Andy Serkis Reads “The Hobbit” As Gollum
The hype machine has started working in full force for The Hobbit, and despite my best efforts to remain cautiously optimistic about certain controversial decisions, I can’t help being swept up in the excitement. The trailer whet my appetite, but it’s seeing the fans get involved that really gets me going. In particular, a recent book reading grabbed my attention.
To help celebrate The Hobbit‘s 75th Anniversary, Fulham Palace Gardens was transformed into the Shire. In attendance was Andy Serkis, the voice and motion capture actor who so memorably portrayed Gollum in both the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and in the upcoming Hobbit films. (The Academy seriously needs to get over their discrimination against technologically-assisted acting and give this man an Oscar.) While there, Serkis read The Hobbit to the crowd, getting into character and doing his scary Gollum voice that surely terrified any young children in attendance, lack of CG be damned.
I also find it funny to hear him comment on what it took to get back into the role of Gollum for the movie. He basically admits that being asked to do the voice free of context and hearing people do their horrible impressions made things harder for him. You hear that, people? Stop thinking you “sound just like Gollum” when you do some horrible growl!
Source: The One Ring