Andy Serkis played King Kong through performance capture in Peter Jackson’s 2005 film.
Serkis performed Kong’s movements and emotional behavior while wearing a motion-capture suit, and the visual-effects team used that performance to create the giant ape digitally. His work built on his earlier performance as Gollum in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films.
The character was not portrayed by a person in a conventional ape costume. Kong was a computer-generated creation, while Serkis supplied the performance foundation used for the animation, facial expression, and physical presence.
Serkis also played the ship’s cook, Lumpy, in the film. This dual role sometimes causes confusion, but his major performance-capture contribution was the title creature himself.