Andy Serkis

Born as Andrew Clement Serkis on April 20, 1964, Andy Serkis is a celebrated English actor and filmmaker. He is particularly notable for shaping the landscape of motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters. His excellence in this niche area of acting is demonstrated by his convincing portrayals of Gollum in _The Lord of the Rings_ film trilogy (2001–2003) and _The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey_ (2012), King Kong in the eponymous 2005 film, Caesar in the _Planet of the Apes_ reboot series (2011–2017), and Supreme Leader Snoke in the _Star Wars_ sequel trilogy films. These performances combine to form an impressive body of work that has earned Serkis an Empire Award and two Saturn Awards for his motion-capture acting. He has also enjoyed success in traditional acting roles, earning a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of serial killer Ian Brady in the British television film _Longford_ (2006) and a BAFTA nomination for his performance as new wave and punk rock musician Ian Dury in the biopic _Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll_ (2010). His other notable roles include Ulysses Klaue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Alfred Pennyworth in _The Batman_ (2022). Besides his acting endeavors, Serkis is an accomplished director. His directorial debut was _Breathe_ (2017), and he later directed _Venom: Let There Be Carnage_ (2021). He owns The Imaginarium, a production company and motion capture workshop in London.