Motion-capture chameleon Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) has spent the better part of a year, all told, directing the second unit of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy; he now plans to use that experience to direct a performance-capture based adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel, Animal Farm. His mo-cap studio, The Imaginarium, has secured rights to the property and will produce the film.  The studio also landed the adaptation rights to the Samantha Shannon novel, The Bone Season, which Serkis also plans to adapt.  Hit the jump to hear what he had to say on both projects, as well as commentary on directing the second unit of The Hobbit trilogy.

Andy Serkis is in flux.  Again.  In an industry thick with top-flight thespians known for a complete immersion with each new role, the 46 year-old stands apart because of his whole-hearted embrace of new technology.  From his complex portrayals of Gollum in The Lord of The Rings trilogy and the title role in King Kong to his work as Captain Haddock in Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg’s upcoming The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn and his return to Middle Earth on The Hobbit films, no other actor has consistently morphed from project to project, over the past decade, with the same combination of acting ability and performance capture innovation.

However, the biggest innovation in Andy Serkis’ latest project, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, is Serkis himself.  He reportedly lost nearly 30 pounds, worked out the right side of his body while letting his left side go weak and wore a leg caliper for months to mold himself into the polio-afflicted British punk icon Ian Dury.  His role off-camera also changed, as he conceived and shaped the film with the screenwriter Paul Viragh.  Add those responsibilities to his recently formed production company, a new performance capture studio/academy and you have a man in transition.

Collider caught up with Serkis for a revealing conversation about his changing career and his own background.  Hit the jump for the audio and transcription, along with plenty of stories on The Hobbit, Tintin, Burke & Hare, Steven Spielberg. Guillermo del Toro, John Landis and, of course, Peter Jackson.