Andy Serkis’ work as Caesar in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” has earned the actor a Virtuoso Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. While at the event, Serkis talked about what it’s like to be the go-to guy for motion-capture characters.

“The great thing is that performance capture technology is now being realized as an actor’s tool,” he said. “It isn’t really a specialized form of acting. Acting is acting. It’s just a different way of recording an actor’s performance. But it’s taken a long time for people to understand that.”

He also said how great is to be back as Gollum in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” “It’s fantastic!” he said. “What’s great is that, with the technology, we can shoot on a live-action set. I don’t have to go back and repeat the process. There’s no disconnect anymore.”

You can read the rest of the interview at Collider.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” also stars Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Lee Pace, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee and Benedict Cumberbatch. The film will be in theaters December 14.

Are you excited to see Serkis back as Gollum? Give your opinions in the comments section below.