Serkis to revisit Gollum in 12-hour readathon

STAR TAKES ON TOLKIEN CLASSIC THE HOBBIT IN NHS FUNDRAISER

ANDY SERKIS has said Gollum is “never too far away” as he prepares to revisit his most famous role for a continuous, live reading of The Hobbit – lasting around 12 hours.

The star, 56, best known for his pioneering performance in The Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit films, will read JRR Tolkien’s 1937 book from start to finish, but said he might need to put up a “back in five minutes” sign when he needs to visit the loo.

Money raised will be split equally between

NHS Charities Together and children’s health charity Best Beginnings.

Serkis, inset, said: “I’ve been wanting to do something that really speaks to the idea of being isolated and locked down and what everybody has been going through and what we all crave, which is to be free and to be outside and going off on adventures. The idea of holiday, the idea of going up into the hills and things that we have not been able to do, that was really what inspired it.

“I’m a mountaineer, I’m a climber and hillwalker and the idea of not being able to do those things is very hard for people who do love the outdoors, so it was the idea of going on some big escape adventure, a real adventure.”

Serkis said he was going to “lean in” to doing all the voices of the characters, but added: “I will try to find my own version but I will be giving it welly.

“There will be lots of, I’m sure, fumbles and stumbles and trips and it’s not an audio recording where we go back and correct, it’s happening live, and if the cat walks in and jumps up on the desk. And if I have to take a comfort break, I’m going to have to put a sign up saying ‘back in five minutes,’ or I might chew my way through some lunch, we will see.”

Speaking about returning to Gollum, he said: “As you get older and the vocal cords are a little more taxed, the Riddles In The Dark chapter (in which Gollum is introduced) is going to be a little baby mouth.

“But he’s never really gone away and people do ask me of course to do answerphone messages and birthday greetings and bar mitzvah greetings, he’s never too far away so I can draw on him.”

Donations can be made at gofundme.com/thehobbitathon covid19appeal. The livestream will start at 10am today.