Serkis: The perception of games is changing

Andy Serkis, the award-winning actor and director, has praised what he sees as the changing social perception of video games, and its increasing relevance as a medium.

In an interview with The Guardian the actor, best known for his performance as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, said that video games are becoming the storytelling form of the current age.

“You can ignore or embrace video games and imbue them with the best artistic quality,” he said.

“People are enthralled with video games in the same way as other people love the cinema or theatre. Over time, I think perceptions will change.

“In the past, Bafta wouldn’t have recognised video games, but now they have a range of awards for different aspects of video games. It is only a matter of time and attrition before video games will be recognised on a par with theatre and film.”

When asked about the role of actors in the medium, Serkis was also positive about the ways video games have evolved.

“Playing a character in a video game is different to other performances because your character can’t lead the audience of players in one direction,” he said.

“If you look at the performance of Richard Ridings as Pigsy in Enslaved, I would put that up against any other character performance in film or stage, and think it deserves accolades.”