While Luke Skywalker has been virtually absent from the promotional campaign for Star Wars: The Force Awakens – save for a possible hooded appearance with R2-D2 in the teaser trailer – one character who remains a complete mystery is that of Supreme Leader Snoke, played by Andy Serkis.
Last week, Serkis offered up a few details about the villain, and now he’s been speaking to Empire about the character, who is he portraying via performance capture:
“It was quite an unusual situation [on set],” says Serkis. “I worked specifically with Domhnall Gleeson and with Adam Driver. My first day was basically standing on a 25-foot podium doing Lord Snoke without the faintest idea what he looked like… or in fact who he was! I was very high up, totally on my own, away from everybody else, but acting with them.”
SEE ALSO: Possible first look at Supreme Leader Snoke from Star Wars: The Force Awakens
“He is severely damaged,” he continues. “Although he’s a powerful leader, he comes across as vulnerable. Very scarred and disfigured. We used sort of a ‘Kongolizer’ method of having sound come out of speakers to give a sense of scale and distance for the character. So it was very challenging and scary, in fact probably one of my most scary film experiences I’ve ever had.”
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Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set for release on December 17th in the UK and December 18th in the States and sees J.J. Abrams directing returning stars Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar), in addition to Adam Driver (Girls), Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year), Andy Serkis (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Silent Witness), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Ken Leung (Lost), Miltos Yerolemou (Game of Thrones), Max von Sydow (The Exorcist), Jessica Henwick (Spirit Warriors), Christina Chong (24: Live Another Day), Simon Pegg (Star Trek) and newcomers Crystal Clarke and Pip Andersen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=orZBAVqQhSc
Originally published November 17, 2015. Updated March 2, 2020.
