Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to peel back the curtain, ever so slightly, as we near the film's December 18th release date. Up next, is actor Andy Serkis, who discusses his character, Supreme Leader Snoke. Apparently, Serkis only had scenes with General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson ) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Oh, and Snoke is big - really, really big. Said Serkis, "It was quite an unusual situation. I worked specifically with Domhnall Gleeson and with Adam Driver. My first day was basically standing on a 25-foot podium doing Lord Snoke without the faintest idea what he looked like... or in fact who he was! I was very high up, totally on my own, away from everybody else, but acting with them." To further empahize the size and presence of Snoke, Serkis' voice actually boomed through speakers as he read his lines on set. "We used sort of a ‘Kongolizer’ method of having sound come out of speakers to give a sense of scale and distance for the character. So it was very challenging and scary, in fact probably one of my most scary film experiences I’ve ever had." But even though he's huge, Snoke apparently is a little worse for wear. "He is severely damaged. Although he's a powerful leader, he comes across as vulnerable. Very scarred and disfigured."
In summary, Snoke is the leader (or a leader) of The First Order, has a booming voice and is huge. At the same time, something happened to Snoke in the past which severely injured and disfigured him. Powerful, disfigured leader of the Empire? It almost sounds as if Smoke was modeled after Emperor Palpatine. Whether Snoke is an actual Force user is unconfirmed but it seemly likely. It will be interesting to see how he connects to the previous trilogies as it's been previously confirmed that Snoke has been around for centuries.