Serkis 'turned off wife with Dury role'

Andy Serkis has admitted that his wife did not like his look in the new Ian Dury biopic.

Serkis explained that he wanted to recreate Dury's image for Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, but added that it was difficult because the rocker, who had polio from the age of seven, was hairless and paralysed on one side.

"I was determined to do anything I could to inhabit Ian's body and bring him to life," he told The Sun. "I started working in the gym on his gait - literally hauling a dead left side with a strong right side - months before we shot it."

He continued: "I also had every single hair on my body waxed off. I am very hirsute to say the least. [The beautician] started with my ankles. It was fine at first and I just read my script. Then she crept upwards. When she came to the inner thigh it was excruciating. There were blood blisters all over my legs and she had to do the most tender parts three times. Never again."

Serkis added that his wife had been unimpressed with the look, explaining: "Dury had a boyishness to his body. It was important to me to get it right. But my wife didn't like it. I'm afraid there was no sex - let alone drugs or rock and roll - for months. My wife didn't like the way I looked. I think it freaked her out a bit."

However, Serkis also praised Dury, describing him as "more resonant and relevant than ever".

"We need more people like him," he explained. "People who are not afraid to put their c**ks on the block."

> Click here for our review of Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll