Andy Serkis on Performance Capture: “You can’t be vain and do this”

"Acting is acting at the end of the day, but playing these kinds of characters, there's an element of being fearless to play them." - Andy Serkis

Actor Andy Serkis

How performance capture acting pioneer Andy Serkis has gone this long without special recognition from the Academy for his work is a headscratcher, but Serkis will keep doing what he does best in order to move the art of performance capture forward. In War for the Planet of the Apes he once again dons the guise of Caesar, the leader of the ape revolution, in what is again acclaimed as an extraordinary performance. In an interview with Den of Geek, Serkis speaks about what kind of mindset an actor must have when tackling a motion capture role.

Serkis says, “Acting is acting at the end of the day, but playing these kinds of characters, there’s an element of being fearless to play them. You can’t be vain and do this. You’re in a tight-fitting Lycra suit, and dots and all the rest of it – you can’t be worried about what you look like. You get your hands dirty playing these roles, for sure. That’s what’s liberating and exposing. The joy and the combination of those things is what makes it thrilling!”

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