Interestingly, Lee was offered the role of Grand Moff Tarkin in the very first Star Wars film. He turned it down, and the role famously went to his friend Peter Cushing. Lee would later join the Star Wars franchise when he played Count Dooku in the prequel films. Some might argue that Cushing got the better deal of the two.

Lord of Misrule: The Autobiography of Christopher Lee - AbeBooks

Ikola, Vilma (11 August 2020). "Sotakuvien seasta paljastui yllättävä löytö: Keskellä talvisodan koettelemaa Helsinkiä seisoo mies, joka saattaa olla näyttelijäsuuruus Christopher Lee"[A surprising discovery was revealed among the war photos: In the middle of Helsinki, which was hit by the Winter War, stands a man who may be the actor Christopher Lee]. Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish) . Retrieved 15 August 2021. Fantasian hyvä paha mies"[A good bad man in fantasy] (in Finnish). Turun Sanomat. 15 May 2002. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007 . Retrieved 27 August 2020. In this early period, he made an uncredited appearance in Laurence Olivier's film version of Hamlet (1948), as a spear carrier (his later co-star and close friend Peter Cushing played Osric). A few years later, he appeared in Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951) as a Spanish captain. He was cast when the director asked him if he could speak Spanish and fence, which he was able to do. [75] Lee appeared uncredited in the American epic Quo Vadis (1951), which was shot in Rome, playing a chariot driver and was injured when he was thrown from it at one point during the shoot. [72]What this autobiography does beautifully is tell the story of the man behind the SFX makeup - the son of a Countess and an army man. Lee spent a large part of his younger years in the armed forces himself - including a time in which he was charged with hunting down Nazi war criminals - before returning to his childhood love of acting. Lee proceeded to star in a number of infamous roles, despite the fact that many people at the start of his career insisted he was too tall to be an actor. Stevens, Tom (12 June 2015). "Christopher Lee: readers' tributes and memories". The Guardian . Retrieved 22 March 2016. Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE, CStJ (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor. He was a direct descendent of the Italian aristocrat Marie Carandini and Robert E. Lee. Dark Shadows: About" (PDF). Warner Bros. 29 April 2012. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019 . Retrieved 25 September 2022. I made a policy of accepting one-off TV roles, but declining episodic TV and sitcoms. Seemingly you must decide whether you are a movie or a TV actor, and never the twain shall meet except on special occasions.” He would have been a great lead in today’s new streaming era over network only television.

Christopher Lee - Net Worth 2021, Salary, Age, Bio, Family Christopher Lee - Net Worth 2021, Salary, Age, Bio, Family

After spending most of the 1970s making over-the-top horror movies in the UK, Lee moved to the US to prevent himself from being typecast. While his first American film was the disaster epic Airport ‘77, he went on to astonish his fanbase and general audiences by hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1978. Steiger Award 2010: Die Preisverleihung"[Steiger Award 2010: The Award Ceremony]. Ruhr Nachrichten (in German). 13 March 2010. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021 . Retrieved 11 June 2021. Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sir Christopher Lee – die Liste der Prominenten, die am Samstag in der Bochumer Jahrhunderthalle mit dem Steiger Award 2010 ausgezeichnet worden sind, ist lang.

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According to Lee, he turned down the role of Dr. Sam Loomis in Halloween, which eventually went to Donald Pleasance. Lee considered his refusal to be the biggest mistake of his professional career, despite the fact that he had also turned the role of Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Considering that Christopher Lloyd’s performance in that film basically seemed like a tribute to Lee, we can’t see he missed out on that much. While Christopher Lee is best known for his film appearances, he got his start as an actor in two episodes that went unnoticed. After that, he appeared in a number of other TV shows, the most notable of which was Rheingold Theatre, an anthology series in which he appeared in 16 episodes as various roles. Christopher Lee had also veen a part of Television series actor and narrator. (Source: Getty Images) Given the huge box office success of these films, we can only speculate on how much money Lee got from the profit shares. Association With Hammer Films It goes without saying that 93 years is a long time to live, with lots of opportunities for adventures and accomplishments. This was especially true of Christopher Lee, a renowned film actor with one of the most recognizable voices of his time. However, despite the many iconic films he appeared in— Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, the James Bond series, the Hammer Horror films—Christopher Lee’s career was so much more diverse than just the acting he was commonly known for. It’s safe to say that Lee was one of the great British Renaissance men to grace a film set, as can be determined by these 46 awe-inspiring facts about Christopher Lee.