Would Gollum have been better unanimated? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Sauron the White · 11-20-2007, 05:03 PM

Remember that William Defoe was playing an actual person who was on screen in one of the most memorable performances of the silent era. He did not have to invent completely out of whole cloth. Even as good as he was, portraying Max Schrek of NOSFERATU fame, I could not see him as Gollum.

Regarding the celebrated Michel Therriault - I did see him in Toronto in the play LOTR and felt he was one of the better things in the production. And keep in mind that I did not like that production at all. However, the Therriault Gollum was the same one Andy Serkis gave us but this time on speed. It was as if he took the already established Serkis Gollum and treated it like an old 33 rpm record and played it at 78 rpm. Without the Serkis Gollum I do not think there ever would have been such a role as that done by Therriault. I also saw him at least twice in Shakespeare productions in Stratford and he was not particularly memorable. But my old playbooks claim that he was in at least two plays I did see.

I must agree with Findulias about the physical problems of casting a real flesh and bones actor in the role. You would need someone who resembled a concentration camp victim but at the same time could perform very difficult athletic stunts without fear of injury. Thats a very contradictory combination that is hard to find in the real world, let alone a trained professional.

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11-20-2007, 05:03 PM	#8
Sauron the White Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 903	Remember that William Defoe was playing an actual person who was on screen in one of the most memorable performances of the silent era. He did not have to invent completely out of whole cloth. Even as good as he was, portraying Max Schrek of NOSFERATU fame, I could not see him as Gollum. Regarding the celebrated Michel Therriault - I did see him in Toronto in the play LOTR and felt he was one of the better things in the production. And keep in mind that I did not like that production at all. However, the Therriault Gollum was the same one Andy Serkis gave us but this time on speed. It was as if he took the already established Serkis Gollum and treated it like an old 33 rpm record and played it at 78 rpm. Without the Serkis Gollum I do not think there ever would have been such a role as that done by Therriault. I also saw him at least twice in Shakespeare productions in Stratford and he was not particularly memorable. But my old playbooks claim that he was in at least two plays I did see. I must agree with Findulias about the physical problems of casting a real flesh and bones actor in the role. You would need someone who resembled a concentration camp victim but at the same time could perform very difficult athletic stunts without fear of injury. Thats a very contradictory combination that is hard to find in the real world, let alone a trained professional.