Andy Serkis admits to embarrassing his daughter on set of Netflix show
He plays her father on The Letter For The King.
Andy Serkis has admitted he embarrassed his actress daughter while working together on the new Netflix series The Letter For The King.
The Lord Of The Rings star plays Ruby Ashbourne Serkis’s on-screen father in the fantasy drama about a ruthless prince who threatens to cast the world into darkness, when a young knight in training embarks on an epic quest to deliver a secret letter to the king.
Serkis said: “She is really difficult to work with. No I’m only joking, it’s been great.
“We are using a shorthand that we know with each other and a way of relating to each other. It’s such a rare opportunity to spend time together working and now to finally see her doing something and play such a great role is just remarkable and to be part of it too is fantastic.”
He continued: “I’m sure I embarrass Ruby cos that’s what dads are for but she’s very good and she doesn’t let me know it when I do embarrass her.
Ashbourne Serkis, 22, who has previously appeared in the Channel 4 drama National Treasure, added: “It is quite odd having my dad play my dad. Obviously he’s got a lot more experience than me. I think we both learn off each other.”
She also described the physical challenge of the role, telling the PA news agency: “Before we even started filming, we had three weeks of quite intense boot camp, it was four hours every morning and then an hour of horse riding in the afternoon, so by the time we got on our horses, we could barely stand, we could barely get on them and hold on.
“It was so much fun. I don’t actually think I’ve ever felt fitter than I did when we were in New Zealand, so it was such a great experience. It was great learning new skills, I did a bit of knife throwing.”
The show is the latest in a string of fantasy series following in the footsteps of Game Of Thrones and Ashbourne Serkis said she thinks audiences are drawn to escapism.
She said: “I think being able to escape somewhere that’s really just a simpler time, it’s really picturesque but they’re still stuck with the same issues that we have today, just in a different manifestation.
“I think with our show I actually think the fact it feels so real, all the kids they feel like ordinary kids, they are ordinary kids. So hopefully people will enjoy being able to relate to characters so much even though it is a medieval fantasy.”
The Letter For The King is out now on Netflix.
