Andy Serkis' Star Wars Character "Very Scarred and Disfigured"


The presumed leader of the First Order in Star Wars: The Force Awakens is, appropriately, called Supreme Leader Snoke. He's played by master of the art of motion capture Andy Serkis and... that's about all we've learned about the character, who has been kept even more mysterious than Luke Skywalker's role in things, up until this point.

In a new interview with Empire, Serkis does let a couple of new details slip.

"He is severely damaged. Although he's a powerful leader, he comes across as vulnerable. Very scarred and disfigured," Serkis said. It's unclear whether he means that literally, as in his face will be torn up, or if it's more figurative and emotional - or both. The voice we heard announce the awakening of the Force in the first trailer was Serkis's, and he said they had his voice "come out of speakers to give a sense of scale and distance for the character."

In fact, that character started out his first day on the set literally towering over his co-stars.

"I worked specifically with Domhnall Gleeson and with Adam Driver. My first day was basically standing on a 25-foot podium doing Lord Snoke without the faintest idea what he looked like... or in fact who he was!"

That could mean he's altered himself to be extremely tall, or it could mean that he keeps himself very isolated from his minions in The First Order. Either way, it's a notable distinction, and speaks to the way the character itself has been isolated in promotion, too.
