The character of Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy is arguably the first time a computer-generated character has been completely believable. A lot of that is down to London-born actor Andy Serkis, who provides Gollum's voice and characteristics. His comparative anonymity will disappear if, as expected, he receives an Oscar nomination for his Rings work in 2004.

In this final film, we actually get to see Andy Serkis. You're not completely hidden behind the digital effects...

It's really exciting because finally, you get to see Smeagol before he becomes corrupted by the ring. So there's a great continuity from actually playing Smeagol into the role of Gollum.

Do you feel that scene helps bring home to people that there really is an actor playing Gollum? That he's not just a computer-generated character?

There is no doubt that Gollum is a collaborative effort and one acknowledges that you can see it all on screen. I think it was necessary to show that there is an actor driving the emotional force of the character. Gollum is unprecedented because he's not just visual effects and he's not just an actor and he's not just a computer-generated character. I think New Line has been great at emphasising the role of the actor in Gollum, but the great thing about Gollum is that he's a marriage of skills and you can't really say he is one thing or another. He's a collaboration.

How much have you enjoyed playing Gollum?

Gollum is a fantastic character to have played. I've been through the three films and acted Gollum the way I would any other role as an actor, except that there's this CG aspect to it. I'm really proud of the work and to have been part of such a great collaborative process. The animators I worked with were amazing!

What for you has been the biggest challenge?

The time it took and the amount of work it took. I spent more time than any other actor working on these films. I had to shoot everything with Elijah and Sean and then I had to reshoot everything again on my own, and then I had to work with the animators and do the voice. It's been a long process and it took a long, long time to get it right. I've seen it go step by step over the years. It's really felt like letting go of a little child. The Gollum you see now is nothing like what Peter and the guys had in mind when we first started on this.

How has playing Gollum helped your career - or has it? Do you worry about being typecast as the actor behind the digital Gollum?

I think certainly in the UK, most people know me from other work that I've done, you know, in films, theatre and television. On the world stage, it's definitely opened things up for me. In Hollywood they know me as Gollum but they've seen showreels and the DVDs' 'making of' films. This is just another role. It's an extreme role but I don't think I'll be remembered just for Gollum.