Andy Serkis just filmed a video portraying Theresa May as Gollum, and you might find it as haunting as (or more than!) the actor’s original character. The skit, which was posted on YouTube on Sunday, is titled “LEAKED: Footage From Inside No. 10 Downing Street!” Serkis’ portrayal of the British prime minister hisses, growls, shakes, and stares, grappling with the desperate desire to pass “My Brexit.” In this case, the object of obsessively coveted desire is the controversial deal May is seeking to pass through Parliament, which would define the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and keep Britain, at least temporarily, in a customs union. The brutal portrait reflects opposition to May’s plan from both hard-line Brexiters and the oppositional Labour Party. In fact, on Monday morning, May responded to the potential embarrassment of a failed deal by postponing the vote, which had been slated to take place on Tuesday.
Serkis’ video ends with written titles spelling first, “THE PEOPLE’S VOTE” and then, “WE WANTS IT,” making the actor’s political message clear. Many in Britain are calling for a second referendum or “people’s vote,” arguing that the British people were not well enough informed about the potentially disastrous effects of the original Brexit vote back in 2016. Like Sméagol’s fight to muster his waning conscience against the warped Gollum he has become, May’s dilemma, as Serkis paints it, is one between what is best for the country and what is best for the politician:
“We takes back control. Money, borders, laws, blue passportses!”
“No, it hurts the people. It makes them poorer.”
“But I finds it and negotiates it. We want it. We has to do it.”
Theresa May is not likely to get out of this mess soon, so it’s forward-thinking that Serkis created an entire YouTube channel called, “WE WANTS IT,” with the profile image showing a blue-suited figure resembling the prime minister. This is also not the first time Serkis has used his iconic role to mock a politician’s paranoid greed on a large platform—last time he just had to be prompted by Stephen Colbert.
