In The Batman, the latest film in the much-loved (and much-debated) superhero franchise, Andy Serkis plays Alfred. Batman aka millionaire Bruce Wayne’s butler, mentor and trusted confidante, Alfred has occupied an important place in the Batman pantheon, having been played by several prolific actors on screens big and small, and most recently by the redoubtable Michael Caine in The Dark Knight trilogy.
An indelible member of the franchise, the character first appeared in Batman #16 in April 1943, written by Don Cameron and artist Bob Kane. In The Batman, released in movie theatres on Friday, director Matt Reeves adopts a darker and more intense tone, theme and treatment, with Robert Pattinson’s maiden turn as the caped crusader being described by the film-maker as “a kind of detective”. Set in only his second year of fighting crime, the film sees Batman uncover corruption in Gotham City while pursuing the Riddler (played by Paul Dano), a serial killer who targets Gotham’s elite. The equation between Alfred and Bruce Wayne in this film, unlike in the other outings, is tinged with hostility and they rarely speak. In an interview, Pattinson described Alfred as Batman’s only confidant, even though Alfred “thinks he’s gone insane!”
Andy Serkis — the undisputed pioneer and master of motion-capture technology in Hollywood — has a huge number of memorable characters in his filmography, of which Alfred is the latest. Think Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films. Think Caesar in The Planet of the Apes franchise. Think Kong in King Kong. Think Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars. Think Captain Haddock in The Adventures of Tintin. Think Ulysses in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Black Panther. Think Baloo in Mowgli. The list is endless.
Over a late-evening cross-continental video call recently, The Telegraph came face to face with Serkis to chat about The Batman, being Alfred and what makes him a fan of the franchise.
You and Matt Reeves have collaborated on the Apes films. You have said that the primary reason why you signed on The Batman was that you would get another opportunity to work with him. What other boxes did this tick for you?
That was the main reason. I equally love the Batman franchise and the Batman character and story. But what kind of really enticed me to play Alfred was Matt’s take on the world of Batman and where he was dropping anchor with the story... in terms of this not being an origin story, but it being a standalone movie, in terms of the formation of the character, that is the nascent stages of the character. As also the complicated emotional relationship between Alfred and Bruce....
Throughout the making of the Apes movies, Matt and I were constantly aware of ourselves as fathers and the story being about family and fathers and revenge... and all of these things. When Matt asked me to play the role of Alfred, this was something that we wanted to continue to investigate, I suppose. I think it was very much that with Alfred and Bruce... a complex stage of a relationship where Bruce is beginning to break away from any kind of guidance and advice from any sort of surrogate parent... and that is a very interesting moment to explore.
Andy Serkis (left) with Robert Pattinson, who plays Batman/ Bruce Wayne in The Batman
The Batman is more intense and dark than the previous films in the canon. How did that inform and influence your portrayal of Alfred?
Because the relationship between Alfred and Bruce is now kind of fractured, the tragedy of the characters and their relationship is amplified in this film. Alfred is carrying the guilt of not being present in the most important and vulnerable moments in Bruce’s life, which involved protecting his parents. And that really amplified the fact that Alfred is not capable of carrying on an emotional relationship like being a father.
That’s the flaw in Alfred. He’s a soldier, he’s practical, he’s bound to duty and honour and to managing the Wayne estate and upholding the Wayne traditions. But he just doesn’t have the emotional capability of being a true father, to someone who, in his mind, is going off the rails. And so providing that guidance doesn’t have the currency anymore. That was essentially our departure, that was our starting point. A very complex and knotty relationship, so to speak.
Is there anything that connects Andy Serkis to the man who is Alfred?
Yes. It’s interesting because I have my own family and guiding them through their teenaged years is never an easy challenge for any parent (smiles). Holding the reins, knowing when to let go and when to hold back to protect... when to step in and when not.... So I obviously transposed some of those real-life experiences that I had to the character. I poured my emotional recall into the role.
Having said that, Alfred, because he is a soldier and was a part of MI5 or MI6 before he became a bodyguard, he’s almost psychopathic in the truest sense. His degree of empathy is by virtue of what he does, and the desensitisation of being a soldier....
That is something that I really had to understand and bring out in him... his inability, that flaw in his character.... (Pauses) Not that I am not flawed! Oh God knows I am! (Laughs)
What makes you a Batman fan and how do you think this film will add to what is an already popular franchise?
I grew up loving Batman. I loved the original TV series... I remember being an avid watcher, and was completely taken in by The Joker and The Penguin and all of the villains... The Riddler, and all the other characters. Just the whole set-up of the Batcave was so exciting as a child, and that kind of stayed with me. As also the comics.
I do think that The Batman is a very fresh take on the Batman story. Mainly because of the fact that Gotham hasn’t been seen in the way that this film shows it. Matt Reeves’ Gotham is an extraordinary place because it does resonate with the world that we live in, in terms of corruption, fake news and the lies that people are told by governments. It all feels very real, but then it’s on a mythic scale. The fibre and the cinematography of Gotham (shot by Greig Fraser, the man behind 2021’s spectacular Dune), the way that it’s been shot, feels neolistic and slightly dystopian. And yet it’s a Gotham that we can all relate to easily.
Also, this version of Batman is not fully formed.... there is insecurity, there is not the clear-cut heroic Batman that we are used to seeing. It’s super molecular really... the way Matt has dissected the character and made him very vulnerable. And I think what Rob (Robert Pattinson, who plays Batman/ Bruce Wayne) does is very powerful... the distance between Batman when he is seeking vengeance and then when Bruce comes back and he’s torn to pieces, both physically and psychologically. That’s a very interesting addition, I think.
SERKIS’ HONOUR ROLL
GOLLUM
The fictional monstrous character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium has been portrayed through motion capture by Andy Serkis in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies.
CAPTAIN HADDOCK
Who better than the versatile Serkis to bring alive, through both voice and motion capture, the man who thunders “Thundering typhoons?!” in Steven Spielberg’s 2011 computer-animated action-adventure film, The Adventures of Tintin?
CAESAR
Serkis’s performance as Caesar in The Planet of The Apes films was widely acclaimed, earning him many nominations from associations which do not usually recognise performance capture as traditional acting.