8 Roles That Prove Andy Serkis Is The Most Important Actor Of His Generation

7. Kong/Lumpy - King Kong (2005)

Peter Jackson did well to recognize Serkis's talent following the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, utilizing the actor beyond the realm of Middle-Earth. Having won Best Picture and a boatload of Oscars for The Return of the King, Jackson had to do something big - like a remake of the cinematic classic King Kong. Many classic elements of the original remain in Jackson's version - the Empire State Building, the social allegory - but there are a lot more new additions fitted for modern audiences. This is an Animal King that falls in love with a human in one scene but engages in an epic battle with dinosaurs in the next - and Serkis is the guy that brings all of it to fruition. Admittedly, there was a lot more CGI involved with creating Kong than there was with creating Gollum. Still, the two would have considerably lessened humanity if not for the presence of Serkis beneath the digital imagery. Besides, playing the iconic title character Kong apparently isn't even enough for a guy like Serkis - he also took on the role of Lumpy the Cook, who is a great character in his own right.