Name: Andrew C.G. "Andy" Serkis

Date of Birth: April 20, 1964

Hometown: Ruislip, Middlesex, England

Education: Lancaster University, Lancashire England, Theatre Studies

Andy Serkis was born in England. He has three sisters and a brother. His mother was English and worked as a special education teacher. His father was an ethnic Armenian who worked as a doctor in Iraq, and the Serkis family spent a lot of time traveling around the Middle East. When Andy was young he wanted to be an artist, so he began studying visual arts at Lancaster University. He became involved with stage design and set building for theatrical productions. Serkis made his stage debut in a play called 'Gotcha' and then decided that acting was his true calling.

In 1985, Serkis began his professional acting career, performing in several plays and working for touring theatre companies. Serkis made his television debut in 1987. He acted in several major British TV miniseries throughout the 1990s.

The most popular role Andy Serkis has played has been that of Smeagol/Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He landed this role in 1999 and spent the next three or more years performing the character in ways no actor had ever done before. The part required Serkis to perform in a skin-tight CGI suit with markers that allowed cameras to track and register 3D positions for each marker. Serkis' every move was picked up by several cameras positioned at precisely calculated angles to allow for the software to process the image. These images were translated into a digital format by animators at Weta Digital studio in New Zealand, then key-frame animated and edited into the movie. To develop the constricted voice he produced for Gollum and Smeagol, Serkis drew from the sounds his three cats made clearing fur balls out of their throats. The voice was also enhanced by sound editing in post-production.

While playing the part of Smeagol/Gollum, Serkis had to shoot two versions for each scene. The first version had him acting with Elijah Wood and Sean Astin so that they were able to accurately move in relation to the way Gollum moved. This enabled the CGI artists to better edit the final animated images. In the second version of the scene, Serkis would do the throaty Gollum voice off-camera, and "Frodo and Sam" would repeat their movements as though Gollum were there with them; this second take would be what the CGI artists used to insert the CGI Gollum in the actual movie.

Andy has performed roles in several other films, including Kong in King Kong (where his experience with CGI came in handy), Richard Kneeland in 13 Going On 30, and Mr. Alley in The Prestige.

Andy Serkis married Lorraine Ashbourne in 2002. They have three children: daughter Ruby (born in 1998), and two sons, Sonny (born in 2000) and Louis George (born in 2004). Aside from acting, Serkis is an accomplished amateur painter who also enjoys mountain climbing. He is a pescetarian (the only type of meat he eats is seafood). Serkis has been active in charitable causes, such as The Hope Foundation which provides essential life-saving medical aid for both children suffering from leukemia and children from countries devastated by war.

Serkis will be reprising his role as Gollum in The Hobbit, with filming scheduled to begin in Spring, 2010.