Andy Serkis is an actor who has his name in some of the biggest franchises. From the Marvel Cinematic Universe to The Lord of the Rings, and even the DC Universe, if it’s a big franchise, Serkis has his name in it. He happened to be one of the highest-paid actors in J. R. R. Tolkien’s series. Astonishingly so, the series made mountains worth more than what the actors were paid or deserved to be paid.
The actor was almost convinced of playing Gollum. However, luckily enough, he did a spectacular job playing the part and made the character as iconic as he is today. Many actors give up on roles that they might otherwise regret having skipped. Serkis was not one of them, he saw an opportunity and he grabbed it.
Andy Serkis Almost Rejected Gollum
Andy Serkis revealed that during a visit to Prague, the actor questioned whether or not the role of Gollum was worth it. He happened to be one of the highest-paid actors in the movie with a salary of $1 Million.
“It was an interesting one,” he said. “Because when I first heard from my agent this was happening, it was just like, ‘Andy, look, they’re doing this amazing kind of film of Lord of the Rings down in New Zealand. They’d like to see you for a voice for a digital character.’ I was like, ‘A what?’” He continued. “I said to this other actor I was working with, ‘I think I may be going down to New Zealand to do this digital character.’ He said, ‘Well, is your face going to be on screen?’ I said, ‘No, it’s not.’ He said, ‘Mate, I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.'”
He narrowly thought of letting go of the role because his fellow castmate for Oliver Twist suggested that it would not be worth it to go through so much trouble. All he knew was that he had been offered a role of a digital character and that his face would never make it on the screen. However, he went outside of what was suggested to him and instead chose to go for it.
Andy Serkis And The Cast Were Not Paid Enough
Although Andy Serkis was amongst the highest-paid actors, it is nothing compared to how much major franchises pay their actors. When it comes to the MCU, DCU, or any other franchise, getting paid above $1 Million would be considered somewhat small for an actor who has an integral role in the franchise.
For a franchise that made over $1 Billion for the entire trilogy, the cast was barely paid anything. Orlando Bloom too was paid merely $175,000. The trilogy had a combined budget of $300 Million which would make the low salaries understandable. However, at that time, no one cared much because they were all focused on bringing to life a brilliant series.
Source: Fansided
