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

2. Caesar - Rise/Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011/14)

The reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise was a tricky proposition, as it attempted to make popular a concept that had been flagging since the original film way back in 1968. The Mark Wahlberg remake was a fantastic mess, with one of the only semi-redeeming factors being the detailed monkey makeup. Slightly ironic, then, that Serkis would have to dehumanize himself in order to portray the hyper-intelligent primate Caesar, who becomes more and more human as Rise of the Planet of the Apes progresses. Indeed, trailers for the upcoming sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes show Caesar riding horses and wearing face paint - not to mention having conversations in human languages. Rebooting the Apes franchise could have been a disaster, but the new trilogy looks to be providing a fresh twist on the mythos by having Caesar be the character that links all three movies. Check out this VFX featurette for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for a glimpse at Serkis and his team before and after the digital paint is applied: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lezfSnO9n5g And to see some of the layering from start to finish, along with some comments about the apes from Serkis himself, check out this featurette from Rise of the Planet of the Apes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM9Pvfq1KhE