Andy Serkis – Flushed Away

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  Well, obviously The Prestige has just come out; which is a Chris Nolan film.  It’s about two magicians at the turn of the century.  I am playing Nikolas Tesla’s, the scientist, assistant named Alley.  Then I’m in Flushed Away which is just out in the states.  It’s an animated film from DreamWorks.  I play a character called Spike who is a hench-rat.  Next year you’ll see a film called Rendition which is about the process of extraordinary rendition of turning suspects to different countries to do some enhanced information gathering.  So, there are a number of things coming out.

Q.  How did you come up with the specifics of the voice of Spike for Flushed Away?

A.  Spike is based on someone who thinks he is rather bigger than his boots.  He’s rather neurotic and thinks he’s in control but actually he’s a real softy.  I imagine Spike is someone who plays the hard man but really lives at home with his mom and does all the washing and cooking.  It basically comes down to him being a total doer and not a thinker.  Spike tries to assert himself but more ends up getting hurt.

Q.  Flushed Away is such a comedic film.  How were you able to get the comedy aspect to play across with just your voice?

A.  I’m lucky because a lot of times when you’re working on these films you’re working in total isolation.  My first scenes were shot with Bill Nighy who plays Whitey, the other hench-rat.  So, we were able to play off each other which is pretty essential.  The reason being how they inter-relate and so on.  He’s much more the philosophical one, not too much brighter, but he’s the thinker really.  We were able to at least bounce off each other and create the human between them.  In many ways it was no different because you’re just embodying the character in that situation.  Spike is very much the fall guy in the relationship so it’s kind of quite slap-sticky really.

Q.  So you were able to work with Bill on the comedic timing with the dialogue?

A.  As I said it was only the first few sessions that we were able to do that.  Then we were alone but it did make it a lot easier.  He’s such a fine actor, Bill, very funny man.  We had good fun doing it. 

Q.  Why should viewers take the time to check out the movie?

A.  I think it’s just a great film and apart from the fact it’s terrific animation, it’s real neat.  It’s got a great message with this posh rat who lives up top in his gilded cage and thinks he’s got everything.  He’s unaware that he’s totally isolated and can’t really connect with anyone at all.  This event happens when he gets flushed down the toilet where he is desperate to get out of that situation once he connects with human kind, or rat kind if you like.  It’s just a great film to see that character go on that kind of journey with the desperation of his journey he becomes connected finally.

Q.  I read that you were starting to branch into video game voiceover work.  What made you want to jump into that?

A.  This year I’ve been working on a game called “Heavenly Sword” for a company called Ninja Theory.  It will come out after Playstation 3 comes out.  It’s the first of the new games and it’s very interesting how gaming and cinema are all coming together.  There seems to be a great appetite for games to want story and character and a real emotional connection to characters in video games.  So, I think it’s certainly an avenue that I’m interested in going down.  I have spent a good amount of time on developing the characters in this game and directing and all that using motion capture.  So, I’ve had a great time with the other actors doing characters from the motion capture stage. 

Q. Speaking of motion capture, what is it like for you doing motion capture?  What do you think of the technology that is out there today for it?

A.  I think it’s a very, very exciting time for actors because we’re just going through a portal into another dimension for our craft.  We really can play anything, we can play any character regardless of physical parameters.  You’ve got the acting chops to get into any character, type or species.  I think it’s a very exciting time and I sort of really have begun to believe in five or ten years time actors will come out of drama schools and colleges and they’ll be in theater, films, on TV and in video games and just be par the course for actors to be a part of the arena.

Q.  You’ve played the iconic characters of King Kong and Gollum.  Are there any others you would like to tackle?

A.  I can’t think of any iconic characters like those two, it really comes down to coming across scripts that are exciting and characters in scripts that are exciting.  Whether they be motion capture or conventional, so I can’t think of anything specific.  I suppose they sort of captured it with King Kong actually because Peter Jackson and Sam Walsh usedThe Hunchback of Notre Dame, used Charles Laughton’s performance, as a role model for Kong.  I remember watching the film when I was younger and thinking it was incredible. 

Q.  You’ve done acting, directing and producing.  Is there anything else you’d like to try your hand at?

A.  I am just at the very beginning with getting to grips with directing.  So, that could keep me occupied for the rest of my life.  There is so much to learn, I think the two areas I really want to focus on are directing and acting.  Those will keep me happily engaged I think.

Q.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A.  I really do want to spend time with my family which is quite a difficult challenge.  I have three young children and I’m working; that’s a tough balance to get right.  We love Italy, we’ve traveled a lot there and it’s such a great place.  My wife and I have traveled there for many years.  We go out walking and climbing is a real passion of mine.  I am thinking about starting mountaineering. 

Q.  What makes voiceover work such an appealing job for you?

A.  This is actually the first voiceover job that I’ve done.  People think I’ve done a lot of it but no this is an isolated character, this is the first one.  I find it a real challenge actually, I love the script and the characters.  It was a challenge for the most part working, you do a session for four or six hours.  Then you go away for six months and you’ll be working on another film, another project, working on another character.  Then you get the call to come in and do another three hours and meanwhile the animators have been working to develop it and you’ve stepped outside of it.  I am not used to that kind of way of working, the projects I’ve been involved in have totally consumed me every single day.  That was the big challenge I found, dropping back into character every six months or so for a few hours.  Then leaving behind to go and do something else.

Q.  What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A.  Wow, I’d just like to say please watch Flushed Away.  It was such a great experience for me and a fun job to work on; it comes across in the movie.