Actor Andy Serkis is the Hollywood go-to actor for motion capture (mo-cap) roles. His filmography in these types of roles is vast and include: the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy, the Planet of the Apes prequel franchise, Star Wars Episode VII and the list goes on.
Serkis has gotten credit from many traditional actors in Hollywood for the advice he gave them for mo-cap performance. Most recently, actor Mark Ruffalo name-dropped Serkis as a person he reached out to so his mo-cap performance of the Incredible Hulk could improve.
However, it seems as if Serkis has more of a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe than previously thought. In a interview with Variety, Serkis seemingly confirms that he has some kind of role in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Here's the Q&A:
You’re involved with both “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Star Wars Episode VII.”
The Imaginarium is the performance capture consultant, and I’m playing a role (in both films). On ‘The Avengers,’ I’ve been working closely with Mark Ruffalo.
Will we actually see your face?
I’m not at liberty to mention. But it’s all the same to me. I’ve never drawn a distinction when playing a role, whether it be live action or performance capture. Acting is acting. It’s just basically what you wear to the set that’s different.
Mark Ruffalo has played the Hulk before. Why does he need coaching?
Performance capture was used on the previous “Hulk,” but not to the same extent Mark is using it now. There are tools and ways of working with an actor that makes them feel that they own the character. And a character the size of the Hulk needs ownership, which Mark has now.
So far, in Avengers: Age of Ultron, we have Ruffalo doing mo-cap work for Hulk. Plus reports that actor James Spader will provide mo-cap work as Ultron and actor Paul Bettany may need to do some as Vision.
So where does this leave Serkis? Could he be doing mo-cap work as Thanos (while actor Josh Brolin provides the voice)? This should open things up for some rumors and speculation. Or this might be as simple an explanation as saying that Serkis confirmed he has a consultant role with the Avengers sequel.
Avengers: Age of Ultron is currently filming in the U.K. and will release in theaters on May 1, 2015.