in the making of props and
posters for the shows. Then
I started acting in the shows,
and by the end of the first
year of college, I had played
my first lead, which was the
epiphany moment — it was an
amazing play called Gotcha,
by Barrie Keeffe.What did you learn by juggling
so many movies this year?
Also among those is
the new [Jungle Book]
movie Mowgli, which
we’re finishing off.
Last year, I was still
editing [Mowgli]
while finishing Breathe while
shooting Black Panther. It
was a crazy, crazy year, but I
realize that I thrive best when
I’m under pressure. The only
downside is separation from
my beloved family.Since you are being honored as
Motion Picture Showman of the
Year, when was it you realized
this was something you had a
gift for?
I played Edgar in King Lear at
school, and I really loved the
notion of becoming someone
else and transforming, and
Edgar was a great character
to do that with. And then
I thought nothing of it after
that because my real
drive and passion was
painting and graphic
design — and that’s
what I went to college
to study. In my first
year there, I realized that you
had to do another subsidiary
course, and there was a strong
theater studies department,
so I got very involved with that
department, really primarily
to design sets or get involved1 The
Planet of
the Apes
franchise
has earned
$1.7 billion
worldwide.
2 “Tentpole
movies now
have such
intelligence
and heart
and soul,”
says Serkis.2ICG Publicists
Awards
March 2
The Beverly
Hilton1Man, Monkey, Media Savant Andy Serkis’ wild year
(Apes! Black Panther! Star Wars!) makes him the
Publicists’ Motion Picture Showman of the Year By Aaron Couch
A
ndy Serkis may have had the busiest year of any actor in
Hollywood. He delivered his final performance-capture
role as the ape leader Caesar in War for the Planet of the
Apes (which earned $491 million worldwide), shocked Star Wars
fans as the villainous Supreme Leader Snoke in The Last Jedi
($1.3 billion), played South African arms dealer Ulysses Klaue in
Marvel Studios’ megahit Black Panther (which broke the record
for a Presidents Day weekend opening with $242 million). Plus,
he released his directorial debut, the period drama Breathe.
Along the way, the British actor, 53, juggled nonstop public-
ity tours for these franchises, so it’s only fitting that he’ll be
honored as Showman of the Year at the 55th annual International
Cinematographers Guild Publicists Awards on March 2.Backlot
Innovators, Events, Honors
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 194 FEBRUARY 28, 2018
APES: COURTESY OF 20TH CENTURY FOX (2). FOGELMAN: GREG DOHERTY/GETTY IMAGES. WHITE: VINCENT SANDOVAL/
WIREIMAGE.PANTHER: MATT KENNEDY/MARVEL STUDIOS.BREATHE: LAURIE SPARHAM/BLEECKER STREET/PARTICIPANT MEDIA.Awards
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