Gollum Portrayer Andy Serkis to Read Entire The Hobbit Online for Charity: 'A Hobbitathon!'
One of the most iconic Lord of the Rings actors is stepping up amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in a very precious way.
The man behind Smeagol-turned-Gollum in both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film franchises, Andy Serkis, will be reading the entirety of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit to raise money for charity.
"So many of us are struggling in isolation during the lockdown," Serkis, 56, writes on the GoFundMe page for the upcoming livestream, which as of Thursday afternoon, has £61,413 of its £100,000 goal. "While times are tough, I want to take you on one of the greatest fantasy adventures ever written, a 12 hour armchair marathon across Middle Earth whilst raising money for two amazing charities which are doing extraordinary work right now to help those most in need in the UK: Best Beginnings and NHS Charities Together."
The 12-hour "Hobbitathon," as Serkis appropriately calls it, will start at 5 am EST and the money it raises "will be split equally between Best Beginnings and NHS Charities Together."
Serkis, an ambassador for Best Beginnings for more than six years, even promises "a special surprise" if the GoFundMe reaches its goal.
RELATED: Andy Serkis Reprises Gollum to Read Trump's Tweets
Talking with Sky News, Serkis talked about performing the various voices of the book's many characters, promising, "I'm going to be doing all of them."
"It's interesting because there are the iconic versions played by so many great actors over the years so I'm going to do my own interpretation," he added.
"Some of them might be closer to the ones I've been involved in, but, yes, I'm going to be doing all of the voices of all the great characters, like the trolls and the orcs and all of those," he continued.
Mike Marsland/WireImage Andy Serkis
Serkis added that he even had a test run for the upcoming 12-hour feat, adding to the outlet, "I had a little test and I have to say, it is quite a test, it's quite an exhausting thing to do."
The Gollum portrayer continued, "I think I'd better keep [the voices] secret and safe and let people hear them tomorrow."
Warner Bros. Pictures Gollum in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
RELATED: Game of Thrones Actors Set to Star in New Lord of the Rings Amazon Series
"From an unexpected party to the last stage, join Bilbo and me on this tale of high adventure," Serkis added on the event's GoFundMe.
He continued, "Together we’ll face the might of the trolls, journey to the magical Rivendell, encounter the giant spiders in the labyrinths of Mirkwood, and the evil goblins living among the roots of the Misty Mountains, until we meet the dragon Smaug, and see the Battle of the Five Armies."
