Donald Trump is one of the most vain and vengeful presidents ever to occupy the White House. Gollum, on the other hand, is a former hobbit once known as Sméagol whose body, soul and mind were corrupted by the One Ring in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel The Hobbit and its sequel series, The Lord of the Rings. One is fictional, while (sadly) the other is not, but considering Gollum’s incessant desire for the One Ring and Trump’s unhealthy fascination with the news media, it’s easy to compare the two. Hence why Tolkien super-fan Stephen Colbert asked Gollum himself, actor Andy Serkis, to read Trump’s tweets in character.
The War for the Planet of the Apes star was on The Late Show to promote his latest, Oscar-worthy motion capture performance, which he and Colbert discussed at length. Considering Donald Trump Jr.’s ongoing email scandal, however, the former Colbert Report host couldn’t resist asking Serkis for a “favor” while he was on the show. “I would love it if I could hear either Sméagol or Gollum read these tweets by Donald Trump,” said the host. Serkis got a good chuckle out of the request, while the audience in the Ed Sullivan Theater erupted into applause. Needless to say, the actor was more than willing to oblige.
