Christopher Lee is a British actor, musician and producer. He became famous thanks to the role of Count Dracula, after participating in the cult horror film "Wicker Man" and the James Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun." Also famous for his roles in the popular franchises Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. In total, he took part in two hundred and eighty projects during his career.
Childhood and youth
Christopher Lee was born on May 27, 1922 in London. The actor’s father is a military, colonel and lieutenant of the British army, a participant in the Boer and World War I. Mother - Countess, a descendant of King Charles the Second.
When Christopher was four years old, the parents broke up. He and his sister Xandra and his mother moved to Switzerland, two years later the parents' divorce was officially completed. It was there that Lee began his acting career, playing in several school productions. His first role in the theater was the image of the famous fairy-tale villain Rumpelstiltskin.
A few years later, the family returned to England. The actor’s mother remarried the uncle of the famous writer Ian Fleming, the author of a series of novels about James Bond. Christopher studied at one of Oxford's preparatory schools, where he also actively participated in theatrical productions. He was unable to enter Eton College and eventually graduated from Wellington College, where he studied dead languages and the culture of antiquity.
At seventeen, Christopher Lee left school and was forced to find work, as his stepfather became bankrupt. As a result, the future actor worked for some time as a clerk and courier in the post office.
Military service
In 1939, the young man quit his job and volunteered for the Soviet-Finnish War. Like all British soldiers, he did not participate in the hostilities, but carried a guard at a distance from the front line. He spent only two weeks in Finland, then returned to London and again began to work as a clerk.
After the outbreak of World War II, Christopher Lee enlisted in the Royal Air Force, but during the training flights he was diagnosed with an optic nerve disorder. After that, he traveled around the world and eventually enrolled in the Air Force Intelligence Agency and became a warden in an African prison.
After Lee provided intelligence gathering and processing during the military campaign in North Africa, and received two promotions for the year. Later he participated in the invasion of Italy, and after the end of hostilities he participated in the search and capture of war criminals. He retired in 1946.
Carier start
After returning home, Christopher Lee for a long time could not decide what to do. As a result, one of the friends of the family invited him to try himself as an actor. However, at first the representatives of the studios rejected the young man, in their opinion, he was too tall for the actor.
However, Lee soon signed a seven-year contract with one of the studios. In his own words, for ten years he simply studied and comprehended all the wisdom of filmmaking. At this time, he mainly played episodic roles in not too prominent projects.
The actor also appeared in large-scale projects “Hamlet” and “Camo Gryadyshi,” however his roles were so small that he was not even marked in the final credits. In 1957, he finally got his first notable role in the Hammer studio horror film Curse of Frankenstein, playing a monster.
The advent of popularity
A truly breakthrough project was for Christopher Lee "Dracula" in 1958. He played the role of the legendary character in many sequels from the Hammer studio, but he constantly clashed with the creators of the paintings due to the insufficiently original script and poor dialogues, as a result, in some parts of the series he does not utter a word and just hisses. In other films about Dracula, Lee appears literally for several minutes and does not participate in the main storyline.
Christopher Lee played Count Dracula for fifteen years. The last films of the series with his participation were not so successful, and soon the studio "Hammer" decided to replace the lead actor.
Also among other films of Christopher Lee for the studio "Hammer" can be distinguished horror "The Mummy", "Rasputin: The Mad Monk" and "Dog of the Baskerville." He also starred in the mystical horror film The Devil's Exit in 1968. The sequel to the picture, released twelve years later, was the last joint project of the actor and the studio.
Most Notable Roles
In parallel with working for the Hammer studio, the actor also starred in films about the villain Fu Manchu. This role for Christopher Lee for many years has become a kind of calling card, despite the fact that he appeared in the frame in makeup, in order to look like an Asian.
The actor called his favorite role work in the low-budget horror film "Wicker Man". The project was originally positioned as the antipode of the Hammer studio horror, and Lee got the idea to play the main role, as he dreamed of appearing in a new image and expanding his acting range. He even agreed to star in the picture for free. As a result, the film became a cult, and today it is considered one of the best British paintings in history.
Also, Christopher Lee appeared in the role of Count Rochefort in three films based on the novel “Three Musketeers” by Alexander Dumas. In the mid-seventies, the actor decided to no longer play in horror films, since he was offered only the roles of villains in the paintings of this genre. Then his half-cousin, Ian Fleming, suggested Christopher to play the role of the main antagonist in the next chapter of the man with a golden gun. The film is considered the best work of Roger Moore as an agent 007, and Francisco Scaramanga is recognized as one of the best villains in the history of the series.
American director John Carpenter offered Lee one of the main roles in the horror film "Halloween", but he refused and the role went to Donald Pleasence. Later, the actor called the abandonment of the project the main mistake in his career.
Hollywood projects
In 1977, Christopher Lee decided to leave England and move to the United States, where he could start a career from scratch and get new creative suggestions. The next year, he appeared in the film "Airport 77", and two years later he played a very unusual role for himself in Stephen Spielberg's satirical comedy "1941".
The actor continued to work, appearing in unusual projects for himself, such as the family film "Return from the Witch Mountain" and the musical comedy "Return of the Captain of the Invincible." In 1998, he starred in the historical drama "Genie", playing the founding father of Pakistan. Later he called this film the best in his creative biography. Christopher Lee also claimed to be the supervillain Magneto in the X-Men film, but lost to another Briton Ian Mackelen. Later, the actors worked together on the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
A new wave of popularity
At the beginning of the 2000s, it was announced that Christopher Lee would play the role of Saruman in adapting the Lord of the Rings book trilogy. The actor initially claimed the role of Gandalf, but, in his own words, was already too old to ride astride and act in battle scenes.
Lee became the only trilogy actor who personally knew the author of the books: he met John R. R. Tolkien once in his youth. Work in adapting the novel brought Christopher a new wave of popularity, especially among the younger generation. His appearance was cut from the rental version of the third film, but scenes with the actor can be found on media.
Lee also took part in another well-known movie series, playing the Sith Count Dooku in the second and third episode of Star Wars. In addition, since 1999, the actor collaborated with director Tim Burton, appearing in six of his films. Christopher Lee was completely cut out of the theatrical version of the picture "Sweeney Todd".
Last years
The actor returned to the role of Saruman in the film adaptation of the book "The Hobbit", however, due to his advanced age, Lee had to be shot in London and they took only four days. Christopher also appeared in the trap Horror, the first project of the Hammer studio in his filmography for thirty-five years.
In addition, he played a small role in the sequel to the film "Wicker Man". He worked actively until the last days, signed a contract for filming in a Danish film a month before his death.
The actor died in June 2015. The cause of Christopher Lee's death was heart and respiratory problems.
Music career
Christopher was a good singer, he performed songs for the soundtracks of several films with his participation. At a relatively advanced age, the actor became acquainted with the musical direction of metal and afterwards worked with several groups working in this genre.
In 2010, he released his debut album. He stated that he intends to pursue a musical career. Christopher Lee introduced the new song on his ninetieth birthday. He later recorded four mini-albums with cover versions of famous songs.
Personal life
In his youth, the actor was engaged to Countess Henrietta von Rosen. For a long time, the girl’s father did not give permission to marry, and when he still allowed Lee to marry his daughter, he broke off the engagement shortly before the ceremony due to his unstable financial situation and uncertainty about tomorrow.
Christopher Lee was married to Danish artist Birgit Krenke from 1961 until his death. The couple has one child, daughter Christina Erica.