Andy Serkis praises LOTR director

Andy Serkis has been describing life as Gollum and praising the talents of friend and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.

The British actor is reprising his most famous role in the film adaption of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, due to be released in 2011. Serkis thinks the magic of the character comes, partly from the motion capture techniques used to make the film.

"The really key moment really was Peter's understanding that drama is what happens between two beings," the 45-year-old said.

He added: "If you chose to have an actor act oppostite a tennis ball on a stick you're not going to have chemistry.

"It has to really be felt, particularly with Gollum in Lord of the Rings, he drives a lot of those scenes."

After appearing in the first film in the triology, The Fellowship of the Ring, Serkis went on to play King Kong, also using motion capture technology, in Jackson's 2005 remake.

Serkis and Jackson teamed up together again under the direction of Steven Spielberg for the big screen adaption of The Adventures of Tin-Tin. He plays Captain Haddock in the motion capture 3D film which is scheduled to hit cinemas in December 2011.