Gollum voice issues for The Hobbit

London - Andy Serkis found it difficult to reprise his role as Gollum in The Hobbit.

The British actor revealed it was tough to voice the sly creature after a 10-year break since he finished shooting The Lord Of The Rings trilogy because he kept breaking into a parody of his former character.

Andy said: "For the first couple of days it felt like I was doing an impersonation of a character I once played because there had been so many parodies and jokes.

"Everyone else has owed him for so long. I was trying to find the emotional core again, get away from the impression - to bring him back."

The 48-year-old actor confessed that it wasn't just Gollum's famous raspy voice that took some getting used to again while filming Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, it was the tricky fast-paced action scenes.

He added to Empire magazine: "He has lived on his own in this cave in the misty mountains for about 4 000 years. 440 years, to be precise - 60 years before Lord of the Rings.

"He's only a little bit younger, really, not that much more sprightly. More to the point, I'm 12 years older so he's definitely not much more sprightly."