I am confident that fans of the J.R.R. Tolkien series ‘Lord of the Rings’ were already aware of this fact. And people who own cats may also have recognized a distinct sound, voiced from a main character. One that is simply “precious” to all of us; Gollum. The uniquely creepy monster was voiced by the equally uniquely talented actor Andy Serkis. And it is Andy’s tale that we’re focusing on today.
The Precious Sounds We All Recognize Today
There are many famous literature and movie characters that we can all recognize from a simply phrase. And popular movie quotes are repeated so often, we can tire of them easily. But some will forever be iconic. “Luke, I am your father”, “Groovy Baby” and “There’s no place like home” are givens. So when the movie adaption of the famous trilogy hit theaters in 2001, it quickly joined the ranks of these icons.
Serkis first came to wide public notice for his performance as Sméagol / Gollum, in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003), for which he provided motion-capture movements and voice for the CGI character. His work on The Lord of the Rings started a debate on the legitimacy of CGI-assisted acting. Producer Barrie M. Osborne campaigned for Serkis to have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, as his voice, body language and facial expressions were used.
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And the easiest to recognize was the indistinguishable voice from Gollum…searching for his precious ring.
Over the years, Serkis has expanded his skills to bring many of our favorite beings to ‘life’. So how exactly does he find the right movements, voice, persona…it’s all baffling. Until he tells audiences just how he does come up with the perfect combination.
And the sound of a cat hacking up a furball was exactly what he was looking for.
Yes, Gollum’s famous hacking sound is based on his own feline coughing up a furball.
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He also shared the details of the miraculous moment in his book, “The Lord of the rings: Gollum: how we made movie magic.” by Serkis, Andy; Russell, Gary
I needed to root it somehow, find a psychological basis, an emotional truth. What exactly has the Ring done to him? Why is he so full of pain and self-pity? Why does he mutter and babble to himself? I started to think about where he would physically carry his pain, and decided that his throat could be deeply affected, constricted by subconscious guilt associated with killing Deagol, so that when he talked he felt like he was choking.
And just then, while I was sitting there in my kitchen trying to imagine how this would actually work, one of our cats, Diz, tripped in and started his usual routine of coughing up furballs.
Initially, I got up to clear up the mess thinking, Do you really have to do this now? I’m trying to create art here. But later, in bed, unable to sleep, I had one of my rare moments of revelation, which felt akin to St. Paul on the road to Damascus or Archimedes in his bath. (I nearly always do my best work in bed at night, gripped by the fear that I’ll never be able to play a part.) My heart started racing, Maybe he sounds like a cat being sick! Maybe when he says “Gollum, Gollum,” it’s like an involuntary convulsion, like coughing up fur balls.
I quietly tried it out, careful not to wake Lorraine in case she thought I really had lost the plot.. It wasn’t entirely successful, because I was lying down and all I seemed to be doing was giving myself severe neck strain, so I decided to wait until morning, when I could physically crouch down and convulse properly.
And a nightmare was born. 
So next time your own precious feline starts to make some strange noises, see if you can mimic them.
After you clean up of course. Wink Wink.
