4. Andy Serkis
Prior to 2001, Serkis made his career doing TV series and smaller productions. When he landed Gollum in those movies about a magic ring, Serkis’ career started to turn. He became a CG actor. The audience only saw a CG impression of Serkis’ work in the Rings movies, but that was no different than what happened in the Planet of the Apes. In those movies, he played Ceasar, the leader of the apes. In both cases, audiences only see a CG-version of Serkis, but it’s what he does in the green screen captures that defines the movements of the characters he plays.