Can a 'voice' win an Oscar?

[The Sigil]

He deserves consideration.

Not sure if he deserves a nomination or the award.

But definitely serious consideration.

Why not a nomination?

Facial expressions are a BIG part of character acting, especially in a role like Gollum's, where Gollum's split personality disorder is central to the story.

Even if Serkis was the model, an argument can be made that it is the animators that created the facial expressions needed to inspire the necessary pathos for ol' Smeagol.

--The Sigil

 

[Michael Tree]

(using his body to animate the character and his voice, when they could have just used a body actor and a voice actor to make the character)

Actually, the Jackson and co. were planning on doing exactly that. Serkis originally auditioned only for the voice role, but they loved his body movements during the audition so much that they decided to keep him on for motion capture too.

I think he should be given recognition, if not a nomination, but Sigil is quite right about the facial expression. Unless the animators used motion capture for facial expression (which may in fact be the case), a vital aspect of the Gollum character's performance had nothing to do with Serkis.

It's for that reason that I am hoping that the Academy creates a new award, "Best Actor in an Animated Role" or some such. Traditional acting and animated roles can be difficult to compare.

 

[Ranger REG]

Let's agree to disagree: I think he deserves a nomination, you think he deserves honorable mention.

I hope they create a clip in which shows him acting alongside the finished Gollum scene in splitscreen format.

 

[Mistwell]

The facial expressions of Gollum were indeed based on the facial expressions of Sekins. Obviously the increases and decreases in his pupils were not - but the grimaces, creases, smiles, and other expressions were directly off of Serkin.

 

[Shadowdancer]

To take a bad example, if Jar-Jar had been nominated I would be annoyed, because he's a CGI creation. But Serkis did the physical work himself, which was then used to create the film character directly. This is a wonderful way of using modern techniques to create a memorable performance.

It was my understanding that the actor who supplied Jar-Jar's voice also supplied the body movements -- just not the facial movements, since the head and face were completely CGI, and not based off motion capture as Gollum's were. But I agree, the acting job conveyed by Jar-Jar was light years (pun intended) away from the one conveyed by Gollum.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Mistwell: The section of the Academy rules you quoted on acting nominations still wouldn't rule out a performance by voice actor. It would rule out a performance by an actor whose voice is completely (or even partially, I'm assuming) by another actor.

Take the recent live action version "Pinocchio." Robert Benigni acted the role of Pinocchio, then his voice was dubbed by another actor (Breckin Meyer) for the U.S. version Benigni's performance wouldn't be eligible for nomination. Breckin Meyer's performance probably wouldn't get nominated, either, even if it was eligible.

But I don't know how that rule applies to a situation such as Robin Williams in "Aladdin." He did the voice work for the genie, and the Disney animators took their inspiration for the drawn character's performance from Williams' voice work, so could Williams have been nominated for the work? I don't know how the rule applies to voice-only performances in animated movies.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I guess the best thing in Serkis' favor is that acting nominations for the Academy Awards are done by a committee of Academy members who are actors. So his peers -- other actors -- would be nominating him. They will be the best qualified to know how good a performance he gave, with his voice and his body movements.

Of course (just to play Devil's Advocate), he could encounter a committee with one or more members who are either jealous of his talents, and/or scared to open the door to CGI performances out of fear of limiting job opportunities for themselves and other flesh-and-blood actors.

 

[Mistwell]

Mistwell: The section of the Academy rules you quoted on acting nominations still wouldn't rule out a performance by voice actor. It would rule out a performance by an actor whose voice is completely (or even partially, I'm assuming) by another actor.

I agree it doesn't rule it out - it also doesn't rule it in. The question will be this: Did Serkins physical (non-vocal) acting in the movie rise to the point of being a material part of what is good about seeing the character on the screen in the final product? This is going to be a judgement call for the Academy, with huge ramifications.

As for your Aladin reference - that one is easier. Inspiration is not sufficient. Robin Williams was the voice only for the Genie. The rule is pretty specific - voice-only roles cannot be nominated for best actor.