Some people think that performance-capture acting is different from standard stage/screen acting. Those people probably don’t do it for a living. Andy Serkis does—and he thinks it’s about time he and his fellow simian-impersonators from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes get held to the same standard by the Academy, just like any other thespians.
“It’s a long-standing debate, really, but I’ve always held that there shouldn’t be a separate [Oscar] category,” Serkis told WIRED just before Dawn’s release this summer. “This is acting, and the acting part of it is what is authoring the performance on set. Then, of course, there’s visual effects—the rendering and the artistry and the animation that goes on top to take our performances and put them [on screen]. That’s a visual effects category. So I don’t think blending them makes any sense whatsoever.”
20th Century Fox agrees. The studio behind Dawn is reportedly going to push hard for Serkis to get a best supporting actor nomination for his work on the film as the ape leader Caesar. It’s also pushing the rest of its cast for consideration—including Toby Kebbell for his mo-cap work as Koba—but the fate of Serkis’ attempt will be the one to watch.
So just what kind of chops it takes to do good performance capture? A lot of physical energy, and a lot of expression—so acting chops, pretty much. For a taste, just watch this exclusive clip (above) from the forthcoming Blu-ray/DVD release of Dawn, which shows Serkis and Kebbell in action. They may not be in full costume on a big set, but it’s hard to argue what they’re doing isn’t acting.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is available to stream in HD today and will hit Blu-ray/DVD on Dec. 2.
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