Andy Serkis on Lord of the Rings, Liverpool Comic Con and his love of the North West

Andy Serkis says it's 'lovely to be back' in the North West, as he met with fans at a Comic Con event in Liverpool.

He's known for his appearances across various franchises include Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Marvel and Planet of the Apes.

The actor and filmmaker graduated in 1985, after studying visual arts and theatre at Lancaster University.

He said: "I love the north. I come up quite a lot, I go to the Lake District, I still climb in the Lake District and go walking in the Lake District.

"I love the North West and my wife is from Manchester - we met in Manchester - at the Royal Exchange Theatre - so it's lovely being back."

Serkis was in Liverpool as one of many celebrity guests attending Comic Con over the weekend.

Tens of thousands travel from around the world for Liverpool Comic Con
Andy Serkis met with hundreds of fans at Comic Con Liverpool. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

The event saw a number of Lord of the Rings cast mates reunite at the Exhibition Centre, with a rare Comic Con appearance from Orlando Bloom.

Serkis said: "It's been mega because it's been, you know, reuniting of all of the four hobbits, Orlando's been in, and of course all of the other guests as well."

When asked about being reunited with his former cast mates, he said: "We do bump into each other fairly regularly, but I hadn't seen Sean for a little while, and hadn't seen Billy and Dom for, for maybe a couple of years.

"So it's always lovely when we bump into each other because we were so closely knitted for such a long time."

Tens of thousands of fans travelled to Liverpool to meet the stars for the two-day event, with Serkis attending on the Saturday.

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Tens of thousands of fantasy fans travelled to Liverpool to attend Comic Con. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Fans had the opportunity to meet with the actor, with many queuing for hours to have their moment with the star.

Serkis said: "The queues were going on for like 4 hours. I mean, I wouldn't have waited for us to see me, but they know they've they've been they've been incredible.

"It just it really shows the devotion to the franchise, to the books, to Tolkien's world, and and to all of the other franchises.

"And I suppose I feel very lucky because I've been been part of quite a few franchises."

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