More Human Than Human
Give ‘Planet of the Apes’ lead the acting credit he deserves
STEPHEN Colbert began his recent interview with Andy Serkis by saying that whenever he hears people call the British actor an “amazing motion capture performer,” he can’t help but correct them. “I go, ‘No! He’s a fantastic performer who’s famous for doing motion capture,’ ” Colbert clarified.
In case the distinction wasn’t clear enough, the host then rolled a clip of Serkis acting out a scene from “War for the Planet of the Apes.” The first half of the scene is a close-up of the actor doing a monologue with dots covering his face before he seamlessly morphs into his ape character, Caesar. The takeaway of this PSA? Serkis’ stellar performances aren’t just about the fancy bells and whistles in postproduction. The emotions and expressions are all his.
Technology obviously altered his appearance. But, as UCLA’s head of undergraduate acting, Joe Olivieri, puts it, what Serkis is doing “isn’t any different than what the Greeks were doing 3,000 years ago.” Acting is acting.
Still, from a viewer standpoint, it can be difficult to tell where the actor stops and the special effects begin. That’s why Serkis and his co-stars have been working hard to educate people. Even back in 2012, Serkis’ “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” co-star James Franco was writing an op-ed in Deadline, praising the work Serkis did. Franco compared the motion capture technology to digital makeup — no different from what was done to Nicole Kidman in “The Hours” or John Hurt in “The Elephant Man.”
“His problem is that the digital ‘make-up’ is so convincing that it makes people forget that he provides the soul of Caesar,” Franco wrote.
Could this be the year that motion-capture acting finally becomes, simply, acting? And how long before the Academy Awards takes Serkis seriously?
Serkis was nominated for a Golden Globe for the historical TV movie “Longford” in 2008 but he’s never had a more viable shot at a major award for a motion-capture performance than he has for his lead role in “War.”
Despite the trailers, which make the drama look like an action movie, it has more in common with “Apocalypse Now” — and it has a lot in common with “Apocalypse Now” — than the latest “Transformers” installment.
The film follows Caesar as he tries to shield his ragtag band of primates from the human soldiers who want to decimate them. Caesar’s arc requires a wide range of emotions, from triumphant to despondent to bloodthirsty, while he retains more humanity than any of the humans around him.
This is more actorly heavy lifting than Serkis did playing the fiendish Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” movies or King Kong in Peter Jackson’s take on the giant go- rilla or the intimidating (if onenote) Supreme Leader Snoke in “The Force Awakens,” all motioncapture roles.
“Avatar” notwithstanding, movies with a lot of motion capture don’t tend to be awards contenders. That’s the first hurdle to Serkis getting a nomination, according to the Observer’s Thelma Adams, who has an impressive track record predicting Oscar winners.
Sharon Carnicke, an associate dean at the University of Southern California’s drama school, thinks the Academy members mistake motion-capture performances for voice acting. But there’s a differ- ence, she says. Motion capture, like lighting, costumes and makeup, is simply a tool for actors.
“The most amazing thing about motion capture, in my opinion, is that even though the cameras do not photograph the image of the person, only the motion, that person does not disappear,” she said. “If you know the person who’s performing, you absolutely recognize them through the motion.”
Serkis now has a unique niche, but he started his career like a lot of other actors. He did stage productions before transitioning to bit parts on television shows and eventually movies.
Peter Jackson changed his trajectory, though, when he hired Serkis to play Gollum/Smeagol in 2003’s “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” It was just supposed to be a voice role, but Serkis’ evocative physicality as he acted out the part inspired Jackson to figure out a way to mimic the actor’s movements in the finished product.
Carnicke thinks it’s only a matter of time before people equate motion capture work with traditional acting. Drama schools, including the one at USC, are even expanding their programs to include new media, including motion capture, virtual reality and video games. She isn’t going to place any bets on how soon the general population comes around, though.