Christopher Lee

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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Christopher Lee

English actor

Also known as: Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee

Written by Richard Pallardy

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 19, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee

Born:: May 27, 1922, Belgravia, London, England

Died:: June 7, 2015, London (aged 93)

Married To:: Gitte Lee (married 1961)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "A Feast at Midnight" (1994); "Valley of Eagles" (1951); "The Castle of Fu Manchu" (1969); "Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents" (1953–1956); "Les redoutables" (2001); "The Bengal Lancers!" (1984); "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002); "Pánico en el Transiberiano" (1972); "Nutcracker Fantasy" (1979); "Katarsis" (1963); "Starship Invasions" (1977); "Ghost Stories for Christmas" (2000); "Too Hot to Handle" (1960); "Corpse Bride" (2005); "O.S.S." (1958); "Taste the Blood of Dracula" (1970); "The Truth About Women" (1957); "Corridors of Blood" (1958); "Safari 3000" (1982); "Les rivières pourpres 2 - Les anges de l'apocalypse" (2004); "Fortune Is a Woman" (1957); "Paul Temple Returns" (1952); "Angels in Notting Hill" (2015); "Burke and Hare" (2010); "Arabian Adventure" (1979); "Jackpot" (1992); "The City of the Dead" (1960); "Bear Island" (1979); "The House That Dripped Blood" (1971); "The Avengers" (1967–1969); "To the Devil a Daughter" (1976); "The Hands of Orlac" (1960); "The Return of Captain Invincible" (1983); "The Girl" (1987); "Street Gear" (1995); "The Golden Compass" (2007); "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" (1960); "I, Monster" (1971); "La chute des aigles" (1989); "Curse III: Blood Sacrifice" (1991); "Port Afrique" (1956); "Night of the Big Heat" (1967); "The Magic Christian" (1969); "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005); "The Face of Fu Manchu" (1965); "Battle of the V-1" (1958); "The Oblong Box" (1969); "The Stupids" (1996); "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" (2014); "Killer Force" (1976); "Destination Milan" (1954); "The Girl from Nagasaki" (2013); "White Hunter" (1958); "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" (1995); "The Brides of Fu Manchu" (1966); "Diagnosis: Murder" (1974); "Night Train to Lisbon" (2013); "The Man Who Could Cheat Death" (1959); "The Return of the Musketeers" (1989); "The Salamander" (1981); "Dracula père et fils" (1976); "Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N." (1951); "Wyrd Sisters" (1997); "The Gay Cavalier" (1957); "Caravans" (1978); "The New Adventures of Robin Hood" (1997–1998); "Assignment Foreign Legion" (1956–1957); "The Devil's Agent" (1962); "Mask of Murder" (1988); "The Vise" (1955); "The Battle of the River Plate" (1956); "Hannie Caulder" (1971); "Sorellina e il principe del sogno" (1996); "Orson Welles' Great Mysteries" (1973); "The Skull" (1965); "The Tomorrow People" (1995); "Triage" (2009); "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" (1990); "Das Rätsel der roten Orchidee" (1962); "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1964); "Scars of Dracula" (1970); "The Creeping Flesh" (1973); "Tales of the Vikings" (1959); "Death Line" (1972); "The Wicker Man" (1973); "That Lady" (1955); "Umbracle" (1972); "Shaka Zulu" (1986); "Bitter Victory" (1957); "The Four Musketeers" (1974); "Dark Places" (1974); "Airport '77" (1977); "The Blood of Fu Manchu" (1968); "Dark Mission: Flowers of Evil" (1988); "Season of the Witch" (2011); "Le boucher, la star et l'orpheline" (1975); "Extraordinary Tales" (2013); "End of the World" (1977); "Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel" (1967); "One Step Beyond" (1961); "Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht" (1970); "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003); "Tales of Hans Anderson" (1953–1955); "They Were Not Divided" (1950); "Beat Girl" (1960); "Julius Caesar" (1970); "Murder Story" (1989); "Jinnah" (1998); "Stranglehold" (1963); "Storm Over the Nile" (1955); "Il trono di fuoco" (1970); "La vergine di Norimberga" (1963); "Sleepy Hollow" (1999); "Ercole al centro della Terra" (1961); "The Traitor" (1957); "Gormenghast" (2000); "Police Academy: Mission to Moscow" (1994); "The Crimson Pirate" (1952); "Tempi duri per i vampiri" (1959); "Charlie's Angels" (1980); "Scream and Scream Again" (1970); "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave" (1968); "Funny Man" (1994); "Five Golden Dragons" (1967); "The Far Pavilions" (1984); "The Rosebud Beach Hotel" (1984); "Scott of the Antarctic" (1948); "Police Dog" (1955); "She" (1965); "A Tale of Two Cities" (1958); "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" (2002); "Dark Shadows" (2012); "Circle of Iron" (1978); "The Resident" (2011); "Dracula A.D. 1972" (1972); "Albino" (1976); "Tale of the Mummy" (1998); "The Gorgon" (1964); "Boogie Woogie" (2009); "Soul Music" (1997); "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012); "Sailor of Fortune" (1956); "The Devil Rides Out" (1968); "Das Geheimnis der gelben Narzissen" (1961); "An Eye for an Eye" (1981); "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001); "The Keeper" (1976); "Corridor of Mirrors" (1948); "The Cockleshell Heroes" (1955); "Space: 1999" (1975); "In the Beginning" (2000); "Return from Witch Mountain" (1978); "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (2008); "Desperate Moves" (1984); "The Errol Flynn Theatre" (1956–1957); "Jaguar Lives!" (1979); "The Adventures of Aggie" (1956); "Mio in the Land of Faraway" (1987); "The Treasure of San Teresa" (1959); "Kaleidoscope" (1946–1947); "Kabuto" (1991); "The Face of Eve" (1968); "De Sade 70" (1970); "Pope John Paul II" (2005); "The Passage" (1979); "Colonel March of Scotland Yard" (1954); "Olympus Force: The Key" (1988); "Ivanhoe" (1958); "The Last Unicorn" (1982); "Ivanhoe" (1997); "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" (2005); "Moses" (1995); "Chevron Hall of Stars" (1956); "Rasputin: The Mad Monk" (1966); "Penny and the Pownall Case" (1948); "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (1992); "The Heavy" (2009); "The Odyssey" (1997); "Glorious 39" (2009); "The Rainbow Thief" (1990); "The Devil-Ship Pirates" (1964); "Nothing But the Night" (1973); "Circus of Fear" (1966); "Alice in Wonderland" (2010); "Serial" (1980); "La révolution française" (1989); "Prelude to Fame" (1950); "Il castello dei morti vivi" (1964); "La frusta e il corpo" (1963); "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" (1965); "Trottie True" (1949); "1941" (1979); "Jocks" (1986); "La cripta e l'incubo" (1964); "Taste of Fear" (1961); "Howling II: ... Your Sister Is a Werewolf" (1985); "House of the Long Shadows" (1983); "Alias John Preston" (1955); "The Terror of the Tongs" (1961); "The Wicker Tree" (2011); "William Tell" (1959); "Ill Met by Moonlight" (1957); "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974); "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" (1970); "One Night with You" (1948); "L'avaro" (1990); "The Mummy" (1959); "Beyond Mombasa" (1956); "Hugo" (2011); "Meatcleaver Massacre" (1977); "Dracula" (1958); "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" (1966); "Faerie Tale Theatre" (1984); "The Colour of Magic" (2008); "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" (1967); "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957); "Curse of the Crimson Altar" (1968); "The Pirates of Blood River" (1962); "Sherlock Holmes und das Halsband des Todes" (1962); "Around the World in 80 Days" (1989); "The Three Musketeers" (1973); "Babes in Bagdad" (1952); "Theatre of Death" (1967); "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" (1973); "A Song for Tomorrow" (1948); "The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby" (2005); "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1959); "How the West Was Won" (1978)

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Christopher Lee (born May 27, 1922, Belgravia, London, England—died June 7, 2015, London) was an English actor known for his film portrayals of villains ranging from Dracula to J.R.R. Tolkien’s wizard Saruman.

Lee was born to an Italian contessa and a British army officer. After a stint at Wellington College (1936–39), he joined the Royal Air Force (1941–46), attaining the rank of flight lieutenant during his World War II service. Lee then pursued an acting career. Though initially dismissed by casting directors because of his imposing 6-foot 5-inch (1.96-metre) stature, he was eventually cast in Corridor of Mirrors (1948).

Numerous supporting roles followed, but it was not until starring as the title character’s monstrous creation in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) that Lee began to garner attention. That role inaugurated an extended relationship with Hammer Films, a production company that—with the help of Lee and his frequent costar Peter Cushing—was credited with revolutionizing horror film making. Though his lanky frame and cadaverous features were found unsuitable for romantic roles, Lee perfectly embodied such iconic horror characters as Count Dracula, whom he first played in Horror of Dracula (1958) and later reprised in a number of sequels. However, Lee’s turn as Sir Henry Baskerville in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), an adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes mystery, indicated a dramatic range extending beyond the mimicry of reanimated corpses.

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood

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While cementing his place in the pantheon of cinematic Draculas, Lee became the catalyst of another film franchise with the release of The Face of Fu Manchu (1965). In that film and its sequels, he exuded menace as the devious title character. Lee’s distinctive demeanour continued to secure him roles in such films as The Wicker Man (1973), in which he played a pagan priest; The Three Musketeers (1973) and its 1974 sequel, in which he took the part of Count Rochefort; and the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), in which he starred as Bond’s nemesis Scaramanga. Appearances in a steady series of unremarkable films were punctuated by a well-received turn as Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, in Jinnah (1998).

Lee later appeared in Peter Jackson’s lucrative adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, playing the wizard Saruman in The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002). He reprised the role in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), both based on an earlier Tolkien work. His looming presence caught the attention of director George Lucas, who cast him as Count Dooku in the Star Wars movies Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). In addition, Lee was cast in several Tim Burton films, including Alice in Wonderland (2010), and in Martin Scorsese’s historical fantasy Hugo (2011).

Lee penned a number of books, including an autobiography, Tall, Dark, and Gruesome (1977; rereleased in 2003 as Lord of Misrule). He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2001, and he was knighted in 2009.

Richard Pallardy