Lord of the Rings star Andy Serkis is the clear favorite to play the monster ape in Peter Jackson's next epic King Kong.

The British actor, who played Gollum in Jackson's Rings trilogy, has been asked to play Kong in the director's remake.

The part means Serkis will again be transformed into a villainous creature with the help of computer graphics, but this time he's also being primed to play another human character in the film.

And the actor insists he's the perfect Kong: "In the middle of the night, about 12, 13 years ago, I scaled the outside of the Eiffel Tower."