My Pressures
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Read by Andy Serkis.
If Gollum, Caesar and Ulysses Klaue could hear Andy Serkis tell his story, would they choose him to play them? This is the question at the heart of his long-awaited memoir.
Beginning in a childhood split between Ruislip and Baghdad, Andy Serkis takes us – and his characters – on a journey through the early influences that shaped him: acting mentors, early roles at a regional repertory theatre, a passion for mountaineering, a desire for film-making and the love story with Lorraine Ashbourne that became the foundation of his life. Then, the call arrives in 1999 that changes everything. Peter Jackson is preparing to make The Lord of the Rings and Andy is asked to audition for the voice of a certain animated character.
What follows is an extraordinary behind-the-scenes journey through the fantastical worlds Andy has helped shape – The Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes, Black Panther, Star Wars and more – as he pioneered a new form of performance that would forever redefine the possibilities of cinema.
In this book, Andy invites us into a genre-defying conversation between actor and character, imagination and reality, and provides an answer to the question: what would Andy’s most iconic characters make of the man that brought them to life?
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Most actors leave their characters behind when the cameras stop rolling. Andy Serkis has invited his along to help tell his story. The actor who brought Gollum, Caesar from the Planet of the Apes movies, and a host of other characters to life has come up with a wonderfully peculiar approach to the celebrity memoir: What would those characters think of the man who played them? Alternating personal recollections with screenplay-style exchanges, Serkis takes us on a playful, unconventional journey through his extraordinary life and career, from his childhood in Baghdad through his early theater days and groundbreaking work in motion capture performance and directing. Along the way, there are behind-the-scenes stories from the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Marvel sets, as well as adventures far from Hollywood—including a nearly fatal solo climb of the Matterhorn. And who better to narrate such an unusual memoir than a performer who’s made a career out of finding the voices of others? My Pressures is a delightful opportunity to hear Andy Serkis speak for himself, even when he’s not entirely alone.
