Yesterday, Hollywood honoured The Hobbit director Peter Jackson with a star on the Walk of Fame. Watch the full event here, which includes Andy Serkis’ touching speech.

It’s been a long time coming, but after six Middle-Earth movies, and a versatile resume listing greats like King Kong and The Lovely Bones, Peter Jackson is finally getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Jackson only had a handful of directing credits when he took on The Lord of the Rings back in the 1990s; the first in the trilogy was released in 2001, and it was clear how much passion and heart he poured into the world.

Yesterday, several stars from his Tolkien adaptations were present to honour him, including Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, and Andy Serkis, who has collaborated with Jackson on many projects, and was chosen to give the speech in his honour.

The event was live-streamed on Variety, and you can watch the full ceremony below:

Andy Serkis is the perfect person to give the speech (which starts at about 10 minutes in). Not only does he play Gollum in the Rings and Hobbit movies, but he also served as second-unit director on the latest trilogy of films. Additionally, Serkis played King Kong in Jackson’s 2005 adaptation.

His speech is full of heart and humour (“I never even knew what the word unitard meant until I met you”), and Jackson is clearly both moved and overwhelmed by the whole affair.

“In the 15 years that have passed you brought much needed magic, mystery, cinematic poetry, creative ambition and most of all joy to the film industry and to the world,” Serkis says of Jackson’s work on The Lord of the Rings movies.

“You really are, genuinely, one of the greatest filmmakers on the planet,” Serkis wraps up. “A no-bullshit visionary.”

We couldn’t agree more! Peter Jackson has done a fantastic job bringing Tolkien’s world to life, and we don’t think anyone could have done it better.

The Hobbit opens tomorrow in Europe, on Dec. 12 in the U.K., and on Dec. 17 in the U.S.