Andy Serkis says motion-capture acting is no different to putting on make-up

Andy Serkis has called for motion-capture acting to be recognised by the Oscars.

The British actor, best known for playing Gollum in Lord Of The Rings and Caesar in the recent Planet Of The Apes films, said computer-animated performances should be considered in the Academy Award acting categories because they were no different than actors "wearing costume and make-up".

He told the Press Association: "I'm really seriously not worried about it for myself, but in terms of what it means to the art and craft of acting, I think it should.

"I don't think there's any difference between acting in a performance-captured role or acting in a live-action role, wearing costume and make-up. It's exactly the same process.

"I don't see why it shouldn't be included in the acting categories. It's not like the core of the performance is changed."

Serkis, 52, said improvements in computer animation technology meant motion capture was now "even more like the original source performance".

He added: "I don't get the argument that, 'Oh well, there's a big team of people that augment the performance' because that's not really what happens, any differently to a make-up team putting make-up on an actor and making them look different."

Serkis was appearing at New York Comic Con where he discussed his latest motion capture role in War For The Planet Of The Apes, which is due out next summer.

He previously starred in the 2011 film Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and 2014's Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes. He also used motion capture technology to portray King Kong in Peter Jackson's 2004 film.

Serkis will make his directorial debut with Jungle Book, a live-action version of Rudyard Kipling's classic tale, which features motion capture performances from himself as Baloo, Christian Bale as Bagheera, Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, Tom Hollander as Tabaqui and Cate Blanchett as Kaa. The film is due out in 2018.