World-renowned actor, director and producer Andy Serkis has been awarded an honorary degree by Lancaster University.

He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters by the Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark E. Smith.

Andy Serkis has taken leading roles in some of cinema’s biggest movie franchises. A pioneer of performance capture, his roles as Gollum (Lord of the Rings), Supreme Leader Snoke (Star Wars) and Caesar (Planet of the Apes) have become legendary, alongside significant non-performance-capture roles, including Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.

A Lancaster alumnus, Andy’s first acting role came in Barrie Keefe’s Gotcha. As a Dukes Theatre member, he took a lead role in their first Theatre-in-the-Park production. A successful stage career followed, before movie stardom beckoned.

Andy has also most recently taken to a career as a film director - serving as second unit director on The Hobbit franchise, and then his directorial debut Breathe (2017), through his company, The Imaginarium.

Andy remains a leading innovator in CGI and performance capture, including through directing Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018).