Andy Serkis admits he ‘can’t escape Gollum’ ahead of Lord of the Rings return

More than two decades ago, Andy Serkis sent shivers down the spines of Lord of the Rings fans for the first time when he brought Gollum to the big screen.

The obsessive character – who was a hobbit called Sméagol before the Ring corrupted him and turned him into a shell of a being – has since become one of the most iconic figures in cinematic history.

Now, 13 years after Serkis’ last big-screen performance as Gollum in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, he’s reprising the role yet again in the upcoming movie The Hunt for Gollum, which the acclaimed actor is also directing.

At Tuesday’s premiere of Amazon Prime’s upcoming psychological thriller TV series The Girlfriend, which Serkis is executive producing, he told Metro of his Lord of the Rings return: ‘I’m very excited to go back. I leave for New Zealand on Saturday.

‘We’re going down to start prep and working on it, because I’m directing.

‘I’m thrilled to return to the family that I’ve loved working with for many years, and a character that I cannot escape from.’

While Serkis acknowledged that Gollum is a character that he’ll be forever tied to, he doesn’t seem to mind the connection, smiling and laughing as he joked about being unable to escape the slippery creature.

Nonetheless, in 2020 he revealed that he almost rejected the role, as a former co-star tried to deter him from accepting it.

‘I remember I was in Prague working on an adaptation of Oliver Twist actually and I said to this other actor I was working with, “I think I may be going down to New Zealand to do this digital character,”’ Serkis told Josh Gad’s web series Reunited Apart at the time.

‘He said, ‘Well, is your face going to be on screen?’ I said, ‘No, it’s not.’ He said, ‘Mate, I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.’”

Serkis’ latest project The Girlfriend sees House of Cards star Robin Wright and House of the Dragon’s Olivia Cooke go head-to-head after Cooke’s character Cherry begins dating the son of Wright’s character Laura.

The affluent doctor Daniel (Laurie Davidson) is caught between the two women he adores the most – his girlfriend, who he believes is ‘perfect’ but who is keeping secrets about her life, and his mother, who some might say he has a creepily close relationship with.

‘We couldn’t have wished for a better cast for a start, and a better director,’ Serkis shared, referencing the fact that Wright also directed several of the episodes in the six-parter.

‘It’s a phenomenal piece of work. As soon as we knew that we had Robin on board, we thought we’re going to be in great hands, and Olivia’s performance is just astonishing. The way we play off each other is magnificent.’

Fellow executive producer Jonathan Cavendish, who produced the first two Bridget Jones films, addressed why they decided to adapt Michelle Frances’ 2017 book The Girlfriend, stating: ‘We thought we could create something – dread word – bingeable from it that was also kind of believable.’

He continued: ‘The writing is brilliant, the direction is brilliant. I think it’s extraordinary, the calibre of these two massive stars, and then all the supporting actors who are more than holding their own.’

The Girlfriend is due to premiere on Wednesday September 10 on Prime Video.

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