Andy Serkis Resurrects Gollum To Take Jab At Putin On ‘The Late Show’

Andy Serkis took a jab at Russian leader Vladimir Putin as he revived his Lord of the Rings character, Gollum, during an appearance on The Late Show.

As Serkis explained to host Stephen Colbert, he voiced an astonishing 132 characters in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. He whipped out a microphone to demonstrate how it helps him perform different voices, before things turned more pointed.

“Gollum was on this side and Sméagol was on this side, and he would say things like, ‘We wants it. We needs it. We must have Kyiv!'” Serkis said as Gollum. “‘No Precious, they’re trying to impose sanctions!’ ‘Sanctions? What Sanctions, my Precious? If they do anything, we’re not going to give them shit back.'”

Serkis played Gollum in The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002),and Return of the King (2003). He reprised the role in 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, but is not set to voice the character for the upcoming Prime Video prequel series, The Rings of Power.

After the actor whipped out his Gollum voice, an enthralled Colbert immediately gave Serkis a standing ovation afterward.

Colbert also pointed out that Serkis’ latest film, The Batman, is also being used as a cudgel against Russia as its invasion of Ukraine intensifies. Warner Bros. blocked the film from releasing in Russian theaters.

“It’s one of the sanctions being leveled against Russia that they don’t get this movie,” the late night host said. “Very powerful.”

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35/10:35c on CBS.

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