Andy Serkis defends lack of diversity in Lord of the Rings cast

Andy Serkis defends lack of diversity in Lord of the Rings castImage source, Getty ImagesByColin PatersonEntertainment correspondentPublished34 minutes agoAndy Serkis is the master of motion capture. He is Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Caesar in the Planet of Ape series, and Peter Jackson's King Kong.So, it feels kind of appropriate that our interview is happening virtually. He is speaking on a screen from New Zealand, where he is directing and starring in the next Lord of the Rings film, The Hunt for Gollum, which is scheduled to land in cinemas in time for Christmas next year."It sits absolutely between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies, and books in fact," he explains handily, as it can be difficult to keep up with the ever-expanding Tolkienverse."It is very much a deep dive into the psychology and history of Gollum before he became Gollum, but also with a very burning question from Gandalf about what the potential origin of this ring that Bilbo Baggins has is," he reveals."The hunt takes place in two different dimensions really and that's about as far as I can say at the moment."Serkis also confirms that he will not be directing the second new Lord of the Rings film, Shadow of the Past, written by the US chat show host Stephen Colbert."I think that that post has been taken, put it that way," says Serkis with a twinkle in his eye, before adding: "That's going to be a fascinating story too. I know it's something that Stephen's very, very excited about being part of."Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Jamie Dornan, Kate Winslet and Anya Taylor-Joy (pictured) will all star in the new Lord of the RingsThroughout his career, 62-year-old Serkis has been a campaigner for equality. In 2018, he said that being one of the few white actors in Black Panther gave him a new understanding of what it feels like to be the ethnic minority on a film set.However, the previous Lor...