Andy Serkis says playing Snoke was a “massive challenge” as the character was constantly evolving

When Supreme Leader Snoke was first introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the character was so mysterious that he sparked many theories about his true identity. Played by Andy Serkis, Snoke was only seen via hologram in The Force Awakens, but he made his grand appearance in the flesh in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, only to be killed off, with The Rise of Skywalker revealing him to be a genetic strandcast created by Palpatine.

Andy Serkis on Snoke

While speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Serkis was asked whether J.J. Abrams had told him that Snoke was going to be the big bad throughout the sequel trilogy.

“I can’t really remember,” he said. “It’s sort of a blur with Snoke. Snoke is the one character that was a massive challenge because he was sort of evolving in terms of writing as we going along. It was still unclear, I think, where he was and what he actually represented in that first film.“

Serkis added that it took a while to get into the headspace of Snoke, and it wasn’t until they did facial capture and voice work that he began to take shape. Still, Serkis said he didn’t really know who Snoke was until the second film, “and by then, it was just a little too late.“

The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson had told Serkis that he would have a much more meaty role in the film, but it wasn’t until he read the script that he found out what that meant. “I’ll never forget reading the script for [The Last Jedi] because you go to Pinewood and you’re locked in a room and they take your mobile phone off you,” he explained, “and then you start reading the script and it was just, ‘Oh, this is getting really good now. This is such a good scene.’ And then it’s just like, ‘Alright, you’ve just been cut in half.’“

Animal Farm

Serkis is back in the director’s chair for an animated adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Many reviews have trashed the film, but our own Steve Seigh actually enjoyed it, saying that although it’s not a perfect adaptation, it’s better than people assume. You can check out his full review right here. Animal Farm will be released on May 1.

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