Christopher Lee

2009-02-27T21:18:49Z

69.29.119.109: /* Roles */

{{actor
| image=[[Image:Christopher Lee.jpg]]
| name=Christopher Lee
| lifetime=[[May 27]], [[1922]]
| played=[[Saruman]]
| film=[[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]]
| played2=
| film2=
| imdb=[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000489/ Profile]
|}}
''' Christopher Frank Carandini Lee''' is an English actor, who portrayed [[Saruman]] in ''[[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]]'', and read the ''[[The Children of Húrin Audiobook]]''.

==Life==
Lee has a long history with [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s fiction; he read ''[[The Hobbit]]'' after leaving the Royal Air Force in [[1945]], and since ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' came out, he read all Tolkien's books once a year. He always envisioned himself as being [[Gandalf]], so when he read that [[Peter Jackson]] would be adapting his bedside book, he immediately called his agent.

===Jackson===
Although he realised he was too old to play Gandalf, he read the part. He did not get it, but was called back as Saruman instead. He had never been in a movie with the actual Gandalf, [[Ian McKellen|Sir Ian McKellen]], but the two quickly became friends, being the oldest actors on the set (though Lee was some twenty years older).

Lee shot most of his scenes in [[Wellington]], in the main studio, but also shot one scene in Wellington's national park. He visited [[New Zealand]] four times, the longest time being ten weeks. He later did some post-synching in London.

While jetlagged, Lee broke his hand smashing it against a wall. Several shots of him in the finished films show him carefully hiding this bandaged left hand.

===Other projects===
Known for his booking voice, Christopher Lee has sung operas, and performed with the [[Tolkien Ensemble]] on their CDs ''At Dawn in Rivendell'' and ''Leaving Rivendell''. He sang the role of [[Treebeard]], as well as reciting numerous other poems.

Lee has recounted his life and his connections with Tolkien's work in the foreword to [[Chris Smith]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare]]'', and in chapter 74, titled "Spellbinder", of his autobiography, ''[http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Misrule-Autobiography-Christopher-Lee/dp/0752859331/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216220748&sr=8-2 Lord of Misrule]''.

Although Lee has expressed interest in reprising his role in ''[[Guillermo del Toro's The Hobbit]]'' and its sequel, should Saruman be included in them[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a97463/christopher-lee-keen-on-hobbit-role.html], he seems to have pulled back on the offer. Due to his age, he would only participate in the projects if he could stay in London. He has expressed interest in voicing the dragon [[Smaug]][http://www.rushprint.no/index_blogg.asp?p=1182].

==Roles==
* 2007 - Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts 2 - Ansem the Wise
* [[2007]] - ''[[The Children of Húrin Audiobook]]'' - Narrator
* [[2006]] - ''[[EA's The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king]]'' - [[Saruman]]
* 2006 - ''[[EA's The Battle for Middle-earth II]]'' - Saruman
* [[2005]] - ''[[Tolkien Ensemble#Discography|At Dawn in Rivendell]]'' - [[Treebeard]]
* [[2004]] - ''[[EA's The Battle for Middle-earth]]'' - Saruman
* 2004 - ''[[EA's The Third Age]]'' - Saruman
* [[2003]] - ''[[Peter Jackson's The Return of the King]]'' - Saruman (extended edition)
* 2003 - ''[[EA's The Return of the King]]'' - Saruman (archive footage)
* 2003 - ''[[Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King]]'' - Himself
* 2003 - ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien: Origins of Middle-earth]]'' - Himself
* [[2002]] - ''[[Peter Jackson's The Two Towers]]'' - Saruman
* 2002 - ''[[EA's The Two Towers]]'' - Saruman
* [[2001]] - ''[[Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' - Saruman
* 2001 - ''[[Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' - Himself
* 2001 - ''[[Quest for the Ring]]'' - Himself
* 2001 - ''[[A Passage to Middle-earth]]'' - Himself

==Quotes==
{{quote|What Professor Tolkien achieved is unique in the literature of my lifetime. Indeed, in my opinion, he had reached the peak of literary invention of all time. Nothing like it has ever existed, and probably never will.|Christopher Lee, foreword to ''[[The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare]]''}}
{{quote|It's just going to be...I'm trying to think of the right word - without making it sound like the usual fashionable superlative. I think it will create film history. I think it's going to have the biggest impact, on screen, of anything of the last 40 or 50 years|Christopher Lee, SFX Magazine June #65}}
{{quote|Saruman is number one. Saruman is, very definitely, the most brilliant, the most powerful, with the greatest intellect and the greatest knowledge. Gandalf...well he's number two. But Saruman's whole character becomes perverted and distorted and he lusts for power and gradually, as it very often does, the old famous quote 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'.|Christopher Lee, Fox's [[Quest for the Ring]]}}

==Awards==
* [[2002]] - '''[http://www.cinemaclips.com/PFCS.htm PFCS Award]''', Best Acting Ensemble, ''[[Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring]]''
* [[2003]] - '''[http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com/ OFCS Award]''', Best Ensemble, ''[[Peter Jackson's The Two Towers]]''
* 2003 - '''PFCS Award''', Best Acting Ensemble, ''Peter Jackson's The Two Towers''

== External Links ==
* '''[http://www.christopherleeweb.com/ Official Website]'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lee Wikipedia profile]

[[Category:Actors and actresses|Lee, Christopher]]
[[Category:Narrators|Lee, Christopher]]
[[Category:Musicians|Lee, Christopher]]
[[Category:Authors|Lee, Christopher]]

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Christopher Lee