Andy Serkis embarks on 12-hour live 'Hobbitathon,' reading full Tolkien novel for charity

Andy Serkis
(Image credit: Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

As we all desperately search for ways to pass the time during quarantine, Andy Serkis has found a pretty good one.

The Lord of the Rings actor behind Gollum has begun a live stream on which he's reading the entirety of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for charity amid the coronavirus crisis. The whole "Hobbitathon" is set to run a whopping 12 hours, and Serkis, who's seated next to a glorious Gollum statue the entire time, has just passed the three-hour mark.

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"I just thought, look, everyone is under such stressful conditions, being in isolation for so long," Serkis recently told BBC. "I wanted to find some way of alleviating, or taking people on an adventure, or doing something which could take them out of this insular world that we've been living in." Serkis noted, though, that the 12-hour marathon will certainly be a "physical challenge."

Join Serkis on his unexpected journey below. Brendan Morrow

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.