Andrew Serkis – English actor of Armenian descent

Andrew “Andy” Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English/Armenian film actor, director and author.

He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation and voice work for such computer-generated characters as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), King Kong in the eponymous 2005 film, Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboot series (2011–present), Captain Haddock / Sir Francis Haddock in Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

Other performance capture roles include Caesar in War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Baloo in Jungle Book (2018).

Serkis was born and brought up in Ruislip Manor in Middlesex. His mother, Lylie (born Weech), was English and taught disabled children.

His father, Clement Serkis, was an Iraqi gynaecologist of Armenian ethnicity. His ancestors’ original surname was “Sarkisian”. His father often worked away in the Middle East, while Serkis and his siblings were raised in Britain, with regular holidays in the Middle East including to Tyre, Sidon, Damascus and Baghdad.

Serkis’ film work in motion capture has been critically acclaimed. He has received an Empire Award, and two Saturn Awards for his motion-capture acting. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of serial killer Ian Brady in the British television film Longford (2006).
He also has a background in theatre and has done lots of acting onstage.”

Jackie Narian Taken from: Setyan Vahan