Serkis to play Ian Dury in biopic

'Lord of the Rings' star Andy Serkis has signed up to play British punk legend Ian Dury in a biopic of the late Blockheads frontman.

The actor, who played Gollum in the fantasy trilogy has confirmed he is learning his lines and preparing for filming to start in April.

Serkis tells Cinema Blend: "I'm actually doing a film about the life of Ian Dury ... He's an amazing character, a real poet ... And he was a polio sufferer, so he basically didn't have much use of his left leg or his left arm. He was one of the first disabled punk rockers ever. I'm really looking forward to that".

It's not the first biopic the rocker has inspired, a musical, 'Hit Me: The Life And Rhymes Of Ian Dury', is currently running in London.

Dury died in 2000 at the age of 57.