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

3. Ian Dury - Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010)

In many ways, Serkis's non-motion capture roles all led to 2010's Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, in which he plays the polio-afflicted Blockheads frontman Ian Dury. The restrained psychopath Ian Brady from Longford, the sly henchman Alley from The Prestige, the manic and life-loving William Hare from Burke and Hare - all of these are rolled into one incredible performance here, with Serkis doling out flashes of each with impressive rapidity. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, like Burke and Hare in the same year, is not without its flaws. Anyone who's seen Nicolas Winding Refn's Bronson will recognize in this biopic an attempt to recreate the storytelling technique utilized in that film, and it's not nearly as effective here. But Serkis is on point the entire way through, and his performance is what elevates the film into praiseworthy territory. His demeanor and mannerisms are clearly the result of long hours of research into Dury and similarly afflicted unfortunates, and Serkis's performance capture work likely informed his great attention to detail in both the physical and the emotional aspects of this portrayal.