Andy Serkis says the Lord Of The Rings cast was ‘very white’ and admits there were ‘criticisms’ over the film series’ lack of diversity as he defends the casting of his new prequel
Andy Serkis has admitted the Lord of the Rings cast is ‘too white’ after 25 years of debate over a lack of diversity in the films.
The iconic trilogy is considered one of the best in cinema history, with the last one, The Return of The King, being awarded 11 Oscars.
But fans complained that there was little diversity among the stars playing the film’s most iconic roles, and Andy addressed that backlash in a new interview.
The actor, who provided the motion capture for Gollum, has admitted that there was ‘criticism’ of the casting of the original films and that this is something he plans to ‘acknowledge’ in his new film The Hunt For Gollum.
He said: ‘Tolkien himself was very influenced by Norse mythology, there’s a lot of that feeling.
‘The Shire looks very, very white, you know…’
Andy Serkis admits Lord of the Rings cast is ‘too white’ after 25 years of debate over lack of diversity in films
To talk BBCAndy added: ‘They don’t really care about what goes on beyond the borders of the Shire but they know they don’t want people coming in.
‘Yes, there was criticism.
‘This particular film kind of acknowledges that. But I don’t think we’re going to make a politically correct version of the movie that’s just casting and ticking the boxes. So, that’s basically where it relates.’
Casting for The Hunt For Gollum is currently ongoing and the film, set to be released in December 2027, will see Andy reprising his role as Gollum and Ian McKellen reprising his role as Gandalf the Grey.
Told from Gollum’s point of view, the film takes place before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring and sees Gandalf sending a ranger named Strider to find the old Hobbit.
Strider, also known as Aragorn, will be played by Jamie Dornan, replacing original star Viggo Mortensen.
The cast received mixed reactions, with comments on Instagram including: ’50 shades of Gollum;’
‘Kate Winslet to Jamie Dornan in LOTR: “Draw me like a Rivendell girl”‘
‘On the whole, Jamie is perfect for Aragorn;’
The iconic trilogy is considered one of the best in cinema history, but fans have previously criticized the lack of diversity among the actors.
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Anya Taylor-Joy and Kate Winslet have also joined the cast, and the film will use anti-aging technology for returning actors to the series.
In 2022, several stars of The Lord of the Rings prequel series The Rings Of Power faced vile racist trolling regarding their cast in the series; Stars including Sir Lenny Henry starred as elves, dwarves and Harfoots.
Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, who played the hobbits in the original trilogy, shared social media posts with the title ‘Welcome Here, All’ as a show of solidarity.
Additionally, a message was posted on the show’s social media account reacting to the ‘brutal’ harassment some cast members were subjected to.
He wrote: ‘JRR Tolkien created a world that is, by definition, multicultural.
‘A world where free peoples of different races and cultures come together in brotherhood to defeat the forces of evil. The Rings of Power reflect this.
‘Our world has never been all white, fantasy has never been all white, Middle Earth has never been all white.’
