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

5. Alley - The Prestige (2006)

One would assume that Christopher Nolan has his pick of the litter when casting his films, and that very few actors would say "no" to a role in a Nolan blockbuster. Despite this, Nolan looked to Serkis to portray the henchman of David Bowie's Nikola Tesla rather than anyone else. The enforcer/lab assistant Alley actually has a pretty large role in the film, and so the inclusion of the actor was an exciting casting. Fresh off King Kong, Serkis was employed in The Prestige not for his performance capture know-how but solely for his impressive acting chops. He's a great complement to David Bowie, who is surprisingly excellent as Tesla, and not for one moment does his presence feel unmerited among the rest of the cast. Keep in mind this is film populated by the likes of Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine - and Serkis holds his own among those greats. Nolan is a director that likes to work with a handful of actors multiple times while always including some fresh faces in each of his films. Along with Guy Pearce and Hugh Jackman, Andy Serkis will hopefully pop up in a future Nolan venture.