Watch Andy Serkis Read Trump Tweets as Gollum From ‘Lord of the Rings’
Performing President Trump’s tweets has become a cottage industry unto itself, particularly on and around the world of television comedy. Voice actor Billy West has recorded audio of his Futurama character Zapp Brannigan, and I thought that was the perfect blend of subject and target. But then I saw this clip from The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where Andy Serkis, motion-capture artist extraordinaire and star of War for the Planet of the Apes, read Trump tweets aloud as Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. Now we may have a new Trump tweet champion supreme.
Method man Serkis got into character as you would expect, sitting on his chair in the classic Gollum pose, and reading several of the tweets as poor old Smeagol. We fully expect someone to take this audio and lay it on top of actual Lord of the Rings footage. We await that internet video magic the way a child anticipates Christmas morning.
It’s a shame the War for the Planet of the Apes press tour is almost over; we want to hear more of these. Gollum saying he doesn’t watch much TV! Gollum accusing people of being low-energy! The list goes on and on and on. Colbert called Serkis’ performance “the most beautiful thing ever.” We are inclined to agree. Although there is one word that more accurately describes this video. In the truest sense of the word, it is absolutely precious.