Lord Of The Rings actor Andy Serkis has said his satirical Theresa May Gollum character is a tool to “bring people together” in a time of great division caused by Brexit.
Serkis, 54, appeared in three internet videos as a cowering, conflicted version of the Prime Minister, poking fun at her and her Brexit plans.
The actor, known for his motion-capture work playing CGI characters, described Brexit as a “very, very serious situation” at the Into Film Awards in London.
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He told the Press Association: “It’s a way of communicating obviously what is a very, very serious situation for us all but through humour.
“It’s trying to, rather than cause division in people, bring people together through a character who is beloved and well known, and ideas that are very complicated and have divided people.
“It’s a way of bringing people together.”
Serkis won a host of awards for his portrayal of Gollum in the Lord Of The Rings film series – a deformed creature with a split personality who obsesses over his “precious” ring.
In one video – produced by a company which has previously made films for the Labour Party – Serkis’ May wears a Conservative-blue jacket.
The short clip shows her fighting an internal battle between wanting to see her Brexit deal through and facing up to her critics.
Asked whether there would be another video following the impending withdrawal of the UK from the European Union on March 29, he replied: “There might well be, who knows.”
Serkis was presenting the audience choice award to Bell Gardens Animation Club and Rainbow Collective, a film club based in Peckham, south London.
The group of young film-makers won with Our Peckham: Foodbank & The Fidget Spinner, a feature tackling poverty, food banks and the stigma around those that use them.