Andy Serkis Has Committed To A 12-Hour Livestream Where He’ll Revisit His Most Famous Role

Andy Serkis is able and willing to get a little bit (actually, a lot) “precious” to raise money for pandemic relief. On Friday, May 8, he’s going to settle in for an epic, 12-hour armchair reading of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit from cover-to-cover, and the entire event will be livestreamed. As all Middle-earth fans (and even casual nerds) are aware, Serkis’ most famous role to date would be the voicing of Gollum in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Ring trilogies. The motion-capture master hopes to channel that (unsettling) appeal for the greater good, no matter how long-winded the effort.

The live-reading will benefit NHS Charities Together (a gathering of 200+ charitable organizations) and Best Beginnings (a childrens’ charity). As Yahoo reports, Serkis has set a goal of raising £100,000, or roughly $125,000, over the course of what he’s referring to as “The Hobbitathon” in his Twitter announcement.

— Andy Serkis (@andyserkis) May 7, 2020

The live-stream will begin at 10:00am GMT/5:00 am EST/2:00am PST on Friday morning, all geared toward funneling money toward the The Hobbitathon’s GoFundme page. In a video announcement, Serkis explained why he’s taking this journey:

“So many of us are struggling in isolation during the lockdown. 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, while raising money for two amazing charities which are doing extraordinary work right now to help those most in need.”

You can find more information about this event at the link provided (from Serkis) below.

— Andy Serkis (@andyserkis) May 7, 2020