Andy Serkis on the Vital Role of Games in Modern Filmmaking

04/22/2025 Games

Andy Serkis, the acclaimed actor known for his roles in Lord of the Rings and his pioneering work in performance capture, believes the film industry owes a great debt to video games. Speaking to Game Watcher, Serkis highlighted the shift in perception, noting that film industry figures once considered games "not an art form in any stretch," but now recognize their integral role.

Serkis himself wasn't always a "gamer," but he was drawn to the potential of next-generation storytelling. His interest led him to establish a performance capture studio around 2004, coinciding with his work on Heavenly Sword. This studio aimed to create immersive narratives beyond traditional 2D formats like cinema and television.

According to Serkis, the film industry once held a "terrible snobbery" towards video games, viewing them as lesser cousins focused solely on gameplay like "hack 'n' slash, and killing people." However, he believes games have "come of age," attracting actors fresh out of drama schools who see them as a valuable platform for performance. Serkis likely alludes to the crucial role of motion capture technology in modern filmmaking, a technology heavily influenced by advancements in the gaming world.

Serkis is involved in the upcoming turn-based RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.