Actor Andy Serkis has the internet gasping after doing an impression of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a Ukraine-obsessed monster earlier this week.
But this wasn't just any impression--it was an impression of Putin as Gollum, Serkis' most iconic character from The Lord of the Rings franchise. And fans are in disbelief at the accuracy.
Serkis unveiled the impression Wednesday night during a visit to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. See the impression at the 3:30 mark below.
Of course Putin obviously doesn't sound like Gollum, but the spirit of the character certainly overlaps with the whole vibe of a power-hungry, murderous dictator seemingly bent on mutual destruction, doesn't it?
The impression came as Serkis was telling Colbert, an LOTR superfan, about the 132 different characters he voiced in a set of The Lord of the Rings audiobooks. But when it came to Gollum, the ring-obsessed creature for whom Serkis did the award-winning voice and motion capture work for the LOTR franchise, Serkis put a new spin on the old favorite character.
As he explained to Colbert, he imagined Gollum and his alter-ego Smeagol having a debate on how to go about invading Ukraine and navigating the rest of the world's response to Putin's illegal and unprovoked war.
As Serkis described it, the debate went like this:
“Gollum was on the side and Sméagol was on this side."
“And he would say things like, ‘We wants it. We needs it. We must have Kyiv!’"
"‘No Precious, they’re to impose sanctions!’"
"‘Sanctions? Sanctions, my Precious? If they do anything, we’re going to give them s*** back.’”
Of course, LOTR fans on Twitter were wowed by Serkis' spot-on impression.
Your daily dose of delight. Andy Serkis is a genius. And there is nothing more joyful than seeing Colbert\u2019s excitement while watching Serkis.https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/1499254491362865153\u00a0\u2026— Nish Weiseth (@Nish Weiseth) 1646320327
I love @StephenAtHome face !! He\u2019s the happiest person on earth !!— Alf98 (@Alf98) 1646285482
The exact Face i\u2019d be making, toopic.twitter.com/3DAkgnu16t— Batzy \u16a0 (@Batzy \u16a0) 1646371243
I never get tired of watching Andy serious do his thing. Just geeks me out.https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/1499254491362865153\u00a0\u2026— jooblee (@jooblee) 1646314609
"We must have Kiev! No, precious! They're going to impose sanctions!" https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/1499254491362865153\u00a0\u2026— Felipe Abreu (@Felipe Abreu) 1646355471
compares Putin to golem . love ithttps://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/1499254491362865153\u00a0\u2026— 1qqaz (@1qqaz) 1646359926
I did NOT have "Andy Serkis Revives Gollum to slam Vladimir Putin and condemn Ukraine Invasion" on my 2022 Bingo card, I'll tell you that— Jesse Hawken (@Jesse Hawken) 1646335745
here, andy serkis uses his art to draw a haunting metaphor between the Ukraine and the one ring, as well as Putin and "gollum". that is, Ukraine is Putin's "precious". once you make the connection, it's hard to go back.pic.twitter.com/369R7ajPkS— agp chic (@agp chic) 1646354049
Andy Serkis is the blackest of diamonds https://twitter.com/HuffPost/status/1499745371878219779\u00a0\u2026— Muad'Dib (@Muad'Dib) 1646402381
I LOVE HIM SO MUCHhttps://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/1499254491362865153\u00a0\u2026— Coco (@Coco) 1646359307
Here's hoping Putin has more sense than Gollum did.
@sama/X
