Film actor, born in London, UK. His gaunt appearance and sinister image led to acclaimed performances in Dracula (1958) and its sequels, as well as in a range of other horror movies. Later films include The Three Musketeers and its sequel (1973, 1989), Gremlins 2 (1990), Funny Man (1994), The Stupids (1996), and he played the role of Saruman the wizard in parts one and two of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (20012). Recent television work includes Gormenghast (2000).
| Christopher Lee | |
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Christopher Lee as Count Dooku in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones |
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| Birth name | Christopher Frank Carandini Lee |
| Born |
May 27, 1922 (age 84) Belgravia, London, England |
| Height | 6' 5" (1.96 m) |
| Official site | ChristopherLeeWeb.com |
| Notable roles |
Dracula in Hammer Film Productions Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun Count Dooku in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy |
Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE (born May 27, 1922 in Belgravia, London) is a legendary and prolific English actor known for his versatility, his professional longevity, and his distinctive basso delivery.
Lee is best known for his portrayals of villains; Lee is now over eighty years old, and has recently appeared in films such as The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Lee's great-grandparents formed Australia's first opera company, performing before miners in towns in the outback.
Lee is a step-cousin of the late Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond spy novels. Fleming offered him the role of the title character in the first official Bond film Dr. No, and Lee enthusiastically accepted, but the producers had already chosen Joseph Wiseman for the part. In 1974, Lee finally got to play a James Bond villain, when he was cast as the deadly assassin Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun.
Lee has been married to the Danish model Birgit Kroencke since 1961.
Early life
Lee was born in London in 1922, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Trollope Lee of the 60th King's Royal Rifle Corps, and the Marchesina Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano, whose grandfather had been an Italian political refugee who had sought refuge in Australia.
Career as an actor
In 1946, Lee gained a seven-year contract with Rank Organisation after discussing his interest in acting with his mother's second cousin Nicolò Carandini, the Italian Ambassador. Carandini related to Lee that performance was in his blood as his great grandmother Marie Carandini had been a successful opera singer in Australia, a fact of which Lee was unaware. Throughout the next decade, Lee made nearly thirty films, playing mostly stock action characters. That led to his first appearance as the infamous Transylvanian count in the 1958 film Dracula (known as Horror of Dracula in the U.S.) Lee would become indelibly associated with the role and with the horror genre, making another six films as Dracula, five of them for Hammer, as well as many other horror films. Lee also appeared in the infamously bad series of Fu Manchu films, starring as the eponymous villain in heavy "oriental" make-up. During 2000, Lee starred in the role of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan in the film Jinnah. Christopher Lee had recently played the role of DiZ in the Square Enix/Disney video game Kingdom Hearts II.
He auditioned for a role in The Longest Day but was turned down as he did not look like a military man (despite having served in the RAF during World War II).
Lee acted in the 1970 movie Eugenie, unaware that it was softcore pornography because the sex scenes were shot separately and edited in with his own appearances afterwards.
Lee has played roles in over 220 films since 1948.
Lee was a natural choice for the Lord of the Rings movies, where he plays the role of Saruman (although he is known to have vied for the role of Gandalf, which was given to Ian McKellen).
Voice work
Lee sings on the The Wicker Man soundtrack, performing Paul Giovanni's psych folk composition, The Tinker of Rye.
Lee narrated and sang for the Danish musical group "The Tolkien Ensemble", taking the role of Treebeard, King Theoden and others in the readings or singings of their respective poems or songs.
Lee was a voice actor for the Playstation 2 video game Kingdom Hearts II as DiZ.
Lee appeared as a narrator for Italian symphonic fantasy metal band Rhapsody of Fire, playing the Wizard King in the latest two albums, Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret and Triumph or Agony.
Honors
In 2001, Christopher Lee was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.
Lee was named 2005's 'most marketable star in the world' in a USA Today newspaper poll, after three of the films he appeared in grossed $640m.
Lee is fluent in Italian, German and Swedish and proficient in French. Lee's voice can be heard on the latest two Rhapsody of Fire's albums, Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret and Triumph or Agony. For personal appearances Lee's rider requests a supply of Earl Grey tea and states that he will not talk about his Hammer Films. In addition to more than a dozen feature films together for Hammer Films, Amicus Films and other companies, Lee and Peter Cushing both appeared in Hamlet (1948) and Moulin Rouge (1952) albeit in separate scenes, and appeared in separate installments of the Star Wars films, Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in the original film, Lee years later as Count Dooku.
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