Having come from graphics in the 90's, practical high-performance answers typically involve fakery on both primary surface shading and shadow calculation.

I've pulled some tricks like "object-pre-pufficiation" (low-frequency model manifold encapsulation, then following the same bones for deformation) mixed with normal recording in shadow layers (for realtime work on old mobile hardware), but, these days, so much can be done with sampling and proper ray-tracing, the old tricks are more novelty than necessary.

It still pays to fake it, though.