Andy Serkis is famous for not showing his face.
He contributed his voice and body motions to the computer-generated Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the giant ape in “King Kong.” The trend continues as Serkis voices Spike, the neurotic hench-rat in the animated comedy “Flushed Away,” opening today.
Serkis admits that he based the hapless Spike on real people from his past. We've all known people who were too big for their boots, whose attempts to take control of a situation always backfire, Serkis said in a phone interview from Los Angeles.
“He's a lowlife, rather neurotic gangster,” Serkis said.
Spike and his fellow hench-rat Whitey (Bill Nighy, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest”) are the Laurel and Hardy of “Flushed Away.” Whitey is the big guy who tries to be philosophical; Spike is the little guy trying to be scary, even though his mum washes his knickers.
In “Flushed Away,” pampered pet mouse Roddy St. James (voice of Hugh Jackman) accidentally lands in an underground version of London where rats rule. Roddy meets the independent-minded Rita (Kate Winslet), and they both run afoul of the crime lord Toad (Ian McKellen).
Toad sends his bumbling hench-rats, Spike and Whitey, and the mercenary Le Frog (Jean Reno) to take care of Roddy and Rita.
Serkis, who lives in London, took the role because he liked the script and is a huge fan of Aardman Features, the folks behind “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.” Aardman partnered with DreamWorks Animation to make this movie.
“Flushed Away” is animated via computer, but Aardman and DreamWorks wanted to retain the feel of Aardman's earlier movies, which used clay puppets and stop-motion animation. The filmmakers tried to mimic the way puppets move and kept the exaggerated look of Aardman's characters.
Voice actors on animated movies usually work alone. But Serkis and Nighy worked together for one recording session, Serkis said, allowing them to feel out the differences between the characters' personalities and voices.
“It's always better when you have someone to play off,” he said.
Serkis worked on “Flushed Away” for almost three years. During that same time, he was portraying King Kong and Lumpy the cook in Peter Jackson's remake of the classic adventure movie, directing a video game and shooting other projects.
No matter if he was in London, Los Angeles, or Wellington, New Zealand, Serkis spent a couple of hours every few months slipping back into Spike's ears and tail.
Throughout his acting career, Serkis has explored his first love, painting. He was raised in West London and got into acting at college. After tackling a broad range of theater roles, he took parts in television and films, including “24 Hour Party People” and “Deathwatch.”
“Flushed Away” is just one of the fall movies in which Serkis has roles. In “The Prestige,” about a rivalry between two magicians, he plays an assistant to scientist Nikola Tesla. He also appears in the teen spy movie “Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker.” That movie reunites Serkis with his “Flushed Away” partner Nighy.
Serkis is looking forward to doing more motion-capture roles – the technique that allowed animators to track his facial and body movements, then digitize the information into an on-screen performance in “The Lord of the Rings” and “King Kong.”
“It's really an exciting time for that,” he said. “It's incredibly liberating. I love it as an art form. There's nothing to limit you. You can play anything.”
