He played memorable villains such as Count Dracula in Prince of Darkness, Francisco Scaramanga in James Bond – The Man with the Golden Gun, Saruman in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, and Count Dooku in Star Wars, in an acting career that spanned almost 70 years.
That came to an end as Sir Christopher Lee was reported by international media to have passes away at 8.30am on 7 June, Sunday.
His wife apparently delayed the public announcement until 11 June, in order to break the news to their family.
His passing was noted by celebrities the world over, including James Franco, Dominic Monaghan and Elijah Wood from LOTR, director Tim Burton, his co-star in The Man with the Golden Gun Sir Roger Moore, and singer Bryan Adams.
Even UK Prime Minister David Cameron penned a condolence note on social media.
Sir Christopher was said to have died as he prepared to start filming for his latest movie, co-starring Uma Thurman. In one of his last interviews, he said, “When I die, I want to die with my boots on.”
While memorable for playing villains, Sir Christopher rtejected typcasts, and have attempted to take on a wide variety of roles, such as Mycroft, Sherlock’s smarter brother, in Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. He even dabbled in heavy metal music and opera.
Sir Christopher was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013.
Here’s one of Sir Christopher’s more memorable roles as Saruman, as he took on fellow actor Sir Ian McKellen’s Gandalf.
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