who plays smeagol in return of the king
Andy Serkis Serkis first came to wide public notice for his performance as Sméagol / Gollum, in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003), for which he provided motion capture movements and voice for the CGI character. His work on The Lord of the Rings started a debate on the legitimacy of CGI-assisted acting. Some critics[15] felt Serkis should have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, since his voice, body language, and facial expressions were used. There is the argument that his CGI actions were partially, or in some cases fully, animated without his movements, but the same is true for actors in a traditional film with CGI. Serkis appears briefly in live action as pre-Gollum Sméagol at the beginning of The Return of the King, and the CGI Gollum's facial characteristics are fundamentally based on Serkis' own.
Ian McKellen McKellen's career spans genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. The BBC states that his "performances have guaranteed him a place in the canon of English stage and film actors".[2][3] A recipient of every major theatrical award in the UK, McKellen is regarded as a British cultural icon.[4][5] He started his professional career in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre as a member of their highly regarded repertory company. In 1965, McKellen made his first West End appearance. In 1969, he was invited to join the Prospect Theatre Company to play the lead parts in Shakespeare's Richard II and Marlowe's Edward II, and he firmly established himself as one of the country's foremost classical actors. In the 1970s, McKellen became a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain. He achieved worldwide fame for his film roles, including the titular King in Richard III (1995), James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998), Magneto in the X-Men films, and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.