I wanted to be a painter, really, when I was growing up as a kid. It was one thing that really took a grip on me.

My first job when I got my equity card was acting in 14 plays back-to-back. Playing that many roles, you look for ways of differentiating the characters physically, which goes hand in hand with understanding them psychologically.

The learning curve is 'The Hobbit' is being shot in 3D.

I've been told that some guy wrote something like, 'Andy Serkis does everything, animators do nothing.' Of course I never in a million years said that, wouldn't ever say that. It's not within my understanding of filmmaking to ever say anything like that.

There's no road map on how to raise a family: it's always an enormous negotiation.

When I was getting injured so much, I spoke to my family and my manager and said, 'I need my body to recover.' The first thing I thought was that I needed to stay upright. When I went back to Brazil to play, after a few months, my body was perfect.

My father and mother were together because of their faith.

I think I've preserved most of my private life, and I think that's still important for me, and that's still important for my family.