'My Brexit': See what brought 'LOTR' character Gollum out of retirement
Andy Serkis has a holiday surprise for "Lord of the Rings" fans: He's brought back Gollum – he just happens to be occupying the body of British Prime Minister Theresa May (and it's a scary good likeness at that).
The video, which purports to be "leaked footage from No. 10 Downing Street," was made on behalf of "We Wants It," a grassroots campaign demanding another public referendum before Parliament votes to formally approve the deal to leave the European Union.
The clip landed Sunday, hours before May made an unscheduled briefing to legislators, leading to scuttlebutt about Tuesday's vote possibly being delayed.
Gollum, you may recall, was once a Hobbit named Sméagol. But he became mentally and physically corrupted by his obsession with getting hold of his precious, the One Ring and the power that came with it. As a result, he wasted away to an emaciated, balding, grammatically-challenged creature with an overactive thyroid and schizoid personality disorder.
The character, played by Serkis, appeared in the "LOTR" films and the "Hobbit" prequels and briefly came out of retirement last year when Serkis agreed to read tweets from Donald Trump as Gollum for "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert, a self-professed J.R.R. Tolkien superfan.
This version of Gollum sports a blue business suit and pearls, and is being torn apart not by his Precious but by May's final Brexit push.
"This is it! We takes back control! Money! Borders! Laws! New passportses!" Gollum snickers.
Gollum's gentler side, Sméagol, argues the side of Team Remain, saying, "It hurts the peoples! It makes them poorer."
The people, Sméagol insists, "are our friends!" (You can guess Gollum's response.)
Having silenced Sméagol with yet another blow to what was already badly battered self-esteem, Gollum holds up the final contract proudly, hissing, "My Brexit!"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'My Brexit': See what brought 'LOTR' character Gollum out of retirement
