Line #56 Creator/ChristopherLee


1	[[quoteright:335:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/christopherlee.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:335:"[[OhCrap Wait]], I think I can hear Creator/PeterCushing."]]
3
4	->''"I never thought of [[Film/HorrorOfDracula him]] as a vampire, ever. I mean, the blood is the life. That's one thing you have to bear in mind. And it is for all of us, isn't it? Here's a man who is immortal. Here is a man who, through being immortal, is a lost soul. Here is a man who experiences the loneliness of evil, something he can't control, who wants to die but there is a force in him, a malefic force, which drives him to do these terrible things. I said earlier the character is heroic, based on the real man -- a war leader and a national hero, I may say, in Romania to this day -- Vlad the Impaler. Certainly a bloodthirsty character, without a doubt. I also told you that the character is romantic -- so he is, as far as women are concerned, and erotic. And there's, of course, the obvious association with the bite in a sexual sense, if you like. So I tried to put all those particular characteristics into the character. It appears that I succeeded."''
5
6	Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever CBE, CStJ]] (May 27, 1922 – June 7, 2015) was a Belgravia, London-born British actor who initially made his name playing villains, most famously Count {{Dracula}} in Film/HammerHorror films (although he was a hero in ''Film/TheDevilRidesOut''). He became well known for his horror work, and was good friends with Creator/VincentPrice and Creator/PeterCushing; the three were known as the "Unholy Trinity of Horror" for a while. During the 1970s, he also played Lord Summerisle in ''Film/{{The Wicker Man\|1973}}'' and Francisco Scaramanga in the film version of one of his cousin (and war buddy, but more on that later) Creator/IanFleming's books, ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''. He even played a [[ManlyGay leader of a gang of gay bikers]] in the satire on American life ''Serial''. His piercing eyes and melodious bass voice made him instantly recognizable. See CompellingVoice.
7
8	Although he never stopped acting, famous roles dried up a little during the 1980s and 1990s, until he returned with a vengeance, playing villains again, in two of the most widely-seen movie series of the new century: Count Dooku in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' Prequel Trilogy and Saruman the White in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''. He was the only member of the ''Lord of the Rings'' cast to have met Creator/JRRTolkien in person ''and'' was an avid scholar of Tolkien's work (he apparently read the entirety of it once every year), often advising Jackson and Boyens on some of the finer points of the backstory. He wanted to play the role of Gandalf but he felt he was too old for the role when films got around to being made. He has also had a cameo as a member of the church hierarchy in ''Film/TheGoldenCompass'', so that particular character would [[NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize probably have turned out to be important]] had the sequels not been canned.
9
10	During UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo, Lee served with the Royal Air Force and intelligence service, and has mentioned in the past that he also served with [[UsefulNotes/{{SOE}} Special Operations Executive]] (otherwise known as The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare), although always declined to give specific details. The SOE was set up by Churchill to "set Europe ablaze", and it included - among others - Christopher Lee, Jon Pertwee (the famously gadget obsessed [[Series/DoctorWho Third Doctor]]) and Ian Fleming, making it the obvious inspiration for the ''Literature/JamesBond'' series. So there's a good reason that Lee was cast in one of the film versions. After the War, he also became a NaziHunter, hunting down War Criminals due to being fluent in both French and German.
11
12	While known primarily as an actor, Lee also trained as an operatic bass-baritone [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8W2fkhfFPc singer]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KPZJg5g7M8 Some things]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z93SdirnzTw you just can't make up.]] He came out with [[http://www.toplessrobot.com/2010/01/christopher_lee_will_rock_your_face_off.php a metal album]], called ''[[Music/{{Charlemagne}} Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross]]''. (This had some personal significance for Lee: through his mother -- [[BlueBlood an Italian countess]] -- he could trace his ancestry to the historical UsefulNotes/{{Charlemagne}} himself.) Oh, and he [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1263440/Dracula-star-Sir-Christopher-Lee-gets-taste-head-banging--age-87.html head-banged]]. The veteran actor said he often threw himself around to heavy metal. ‘I do head-banging every day,’ he said. ‘Exercising my neck muscles is good for my back. I can do it with or without music.' ''By the Sword and the Cross'' has a follow up called ''Charlemagne: The Omens of Death'', with a preview released on on May 27, 2012 (Sir Christopher's 90th birthday) and the full album was released on May 27, 2013. The release of his Charlemagne musical marked Lee as the oldest musician in the history of the metal genre. On May 27, 2014 (his 92nd birthday) he released another album, ''Metal Knight'', which uses metal covers of other songs to tell a story.
13
14	He shared a birthday with Creator/VincentPrice, and Creator/PeterCushing's birthday was the day before. Pretty... spooky. Being such good friends, the three of them would often have celebrate jointly in a big two-day party, which must have been an amazing time. He was [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever knighted]] on October 31, 2009 (that's right folks, Halloween). While this does not make him more excellent per se, it was most assuredly long overdue. Everyone, please say, Sir Christopher Lee.
15
16	It is interesting to note that, despite his long and illustrious career, Lee was never even ''nominated'' for an Oscar, but [[TakeThat that reflects more on the Academy than him]]. He did, however, win the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2Od_8xyDLI 2011 BAFTA Fellowship.]] He was also as of his death one of the most prolific film actors ever, having appeared in 280 different works - his last film being ''Angels in Notting Hill''. He had been due to appear in 9/11 drama ''The 11th'' alongside Uma Thurman but it was not to be.
17
18	Lee died aged 93 on June 7, 2015 at Westminster Hospital in London, after having been admitted for respiratory problems and heart failure; his wife Birgit held back the news of his death until June 11 so that she could inform their family members privately. Upon his death, they had been married just over fifty-four years.
19	----
20	! Other facts:
21	* Count Magnus Lee, the villain of the first ''Literature/VampireHunterD'' novel and movie, was named after him.
22	* As was the Vampire boss in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyAdventure''.
23	* He also acted as Iras/[[spoiler:the Wizard King Uriel]] in Music/RhapsodyOfFire's epic ''The Dark Secret'' saga.
24	* He was an uncredited stunt driver in ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''. In addition to playing the title role.
25	* He was an [[MasterSwordsman expert fencer]] (he helped teach [[Creator/OliverReed Oliver Reed]] to fence), and has appeared in more swashbuckling films than any other actor - almost invariably as the villain. But then...
26	* The Guinness Book of World Records listed him as the world's "Tallest Leading Actor" at 6'5". He lost a bit of that height to old age, and prior to death, was second to Creator/VinceVaughn with Creator/StephenFry taking the bronze at 6'4".
27	* An awesome {{Omniglot}}, Lee was fluent in English, Italian, French[[note]]With no discernible English accent, even for a French native speaker.[[/note]], Spanish and German, "moderately proficient" in Swedish, Russian and Greek, and "conversational" in Mandarin Chinese.
28	* As of June 2015, Christopher Lee was one of the most prolific actors in history, having appeared in more films than any other person in the world, living or dead, except some Indian actors and probably Creator/JohnCarradine. (IMDB lists about 275 acting credits.) The man was an actor for most of his life and was 93 years old when he passed on. For years, according to the Oracle of Bacon, he (and ''not'' Creator/KevinBacon) was the true centre of the Hollywood Universe. Despite this fact, the trope-related attribute is ''still'' named the [[SixDegreesOfKevinBacon Bacon Number]] and not the Lee Number. Having said that, Lee Number [[InherentlyFunnyWords just doesn't sound as funny as Bacon Number]], [[RuleOfFunny so this is excusable.]]
29	* He was a descendant of Charlemagne. Hence the metal album.[[note]]Actually, it's likely that [[ReallyGetsAround most of central-western Europe]] is descended from Charlemagne, but unlike most of Europe, Sir Christopher had the documentation to prove it.[[/note]] He was also a distant relative of Robert E. Lee.
30	* When he arrived on the set of ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'', he apologized to director Joe Dante for appearing in ''Film/HowlingIIStirbaWerewolfBitch'', a bad sequel to Dante's original ''Film/TheHowling''.
31	* Was asked to play Doctor Loomis in the original ''Film/{{Halloween 1978}}'', but turned down the offer. He subsequently stated he deeply regretted that particular decision.
32	* Turned down the role of Dr. Harry Rumack in ''Film/{{Airplane}}'', something which he also regretted.
33	* His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE_1ofnBFos favourite role]] (note, ''Role'', not ''Movie'') is that of [[TimeShiftedActor (The elder)]] Muhammed Ali Jinnah (The Founder of Pakistan) in the {{Biopic}} ''Jinnah''. It's an awesome film, and a pretty good POVSequel to ''Film/{{Gandhi}}''.
34	* It may not have been his ''favourite'' Movie, but he did everything in his power to promote ''Film/{{The Wicker Man\|1973}}'', offering to pay the ticket price for critics to get them to review it, and touring the US in an effort to get people to go and see it.
35	* He was an avid golfer, and mentioned up the various people he'd played against several times in his autobiography. It helped that his childhood home was actually in the middle of a golf course.
36	* When he was young, Lee actually met Prince Felix Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, two of the men involved in the killing of Rasputin, who he would later play.
37	* He witnessed the execution of Eugen Weidmann, the last person to be publicly executed in France
38	* He served with the [[UsefulNotes/FinnsWithFearsomeForests Finnish Army]] during the Winter War, though he never saw combat (There were a number of British volunteers in the Winter War, but they were kept away from the front lines).
39	* He initially wanted to be in the RAF in World War II, but was grounded due to an optic nerve issue, which he discovered in the worst way possible when his eye started acting up in the middle of a flight. Luckily, his co-pilot was able to take over and land safely.
40	* He's one of the few actors to have both played and outlived Rameses the Great. Rameses died at the age of 90, he died at the age of 93. He is also the only screen actor on record to have played both Rameses the Great and his grandfather Rameses I.
41	* He was huge fan of ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' and used to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxmE1FZOEpc&t=45s watch the cartoons with Peter Cushing]]. They would even imitate the voices and back in the day when the cartoons where showed in theaters, they got thrown out frequently due to their hollering. They continued to watch cartoons together and imitate the voices until Cushing's death.
42	* Lee had served in the military during UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo, and would bring his experience into the film whenever relevant. One of the most well-known examples is in ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'''s [[DirectorsCut extended edition]], in which he is stabbed in the back by Grima Wormtongue. Peter Jackson had wanted him to make a particular scream when stabbed. Lee, however, informed Jackson exactly what sound a man stabbed in the back would make, and demonstrated it on camera in that scene.
43	* During the war, he took time to climb Mount Vesuvius. It erupted violently three days later. One cannot help but wonder if it was due to shock from being climbed by Christopher Lee.
44	----
45	! His HUGE body of work includes:
46
47	[[AC: Films — Animation]]
48	* He voiced King Haggard in ''WesternAnimation/TheLastUnicorn'' (1982), and was in fact a fan of [[Literature/TheLastUnicorn the book]], showing up to his recording sessions with a copy full of marked sections that he felt could not be cut under any circumstances. He also dubbed his own voice for the German version, and before his death, said he would happily reprise the role for a live-action version that's been stuck in DevelopmentHell for some time.
49	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' is a [[AllCGICartoon CGI TV series]] that takes place between ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' and ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. The [[FiveEpisodePilot first episodes]] were of such high quality that, after praise by Creator/GeorgeLucas, [[CompilationMovie they were edited together and released theatrically]]. The character of Count Dooku [[TheOtherDarrin is voiced by]] Creator/CoreyBurton in the series, but when it was decided to release the movie in theaters Christopher Lee returned to record the role.
50	* In the German version of the Danish animation ''WesternAnimation/{{Valhalla}}'' (1986) (based on the [[ComicBook/{{Valhalla}} comic of the same name]]), he dubbed the voices for Thor and Odin.
51
52	[[AC: Films - Live-Action]]
53	* ''Film/{{Moulin Rouge\|1952}}'' (1952) -- Georges Seurat
54	* ''Film/TheCrimsonPirate'' (1952) -- Joseph, a military attache.
55	* ''Film/TheCurseOfFrankenstein'' (1957) -- [[FrankensteinsMonster The Creature]]
56	* ''Film/HorrorOfDracula'' (1958) -- His first appearance as {{Dracula}}
57	* ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'' (1959) -- Sir Henry Baskerville, in a very rare sympathetic Hammer role.
58	* ''Film/TheManWhoCouldCheatDeath'' (1959) -- Pierre Gerard
59	* ''Film/{{The Mummy\|1959}}'' (1959) -- Kharis, the mummy
60	* ''Film/BeatGirl'' (1960) -- Kenny King
61	* ''Film/TheTwoFacesOfDrJekyll'' (1960) -- Paul Allen
62	* ''Film/TheTerrorOfTheTongs'' (1961) -- Chung King, Leader of the Red Dragon Tong
63	* ''[[Film/EdgarWallaceFilms The Daffodil Mystery]]'' (1961) -- Lin Chu, to be mentioned that he played the same role in the German as in the English version of the film, produced simultaneously.
64	* ''[[Film/EdgarWallaceFilms The Puzzle of the Red Orchid]]'' (1962) -- Captain Allerman, as in The Daffodil Mystery, he played in this German Edgar Wallace film.
65	* ''Film/SherlockHolmesAndTheDeadlyNecklace'' (1962) -- Franchise/SherlockHolmes
66	* ''Film/TheGorgon'' (1964) -- Professor Meister
67	* ''Film/TheCastleOfTheLivingDead'' (1964) -- Count Drago
68	* ''Film/DrTerrorsHouseOfHorrors'' (1965) -- Franklyn Marsh
69	* ''Film/{{She\|1965}}'' (1965) -- Billali
70	* ''Film/TheFaceOfFuManchu'' (1965) -- Literature/FuManchu
71	* ''Film/CircusOfFear'' (1966) -- Gregor
72	* ''Film/DraculaPrinceOfDarkness'' (1966) -- Dracula
73	* ''Film/RasputinTheMadMonk'' (1966) -- UsefulNotes/GrigoriRasputin
74	* ''Film/TheatreOfDeath'' (1967) -- Phillipe Darvas
75	* ''Film/TheTortureChamberOfDrSadism'' (1967) -- Count Regula
76	* ''Film/CurseOfTheCrimsonAltar'' (1968) -- Morley
77	* ''Film/TheDevilRidesOut'' (1968) -- Duc le Richeau
78	* ''Film/DraculaHasRisenFromTheGrave'' (1968) -- Dracula
79	* ''Film/TheCastleOfFuManchu'' (1969) -- Fu Manchu
80	* ''Film/ScreamAndScreamAgain'' (1970) -- Freemont
81	* ''Film/{{Count Dracula\|1970}}'' (1970) -- Dracula (Directed by Creator/JessFranco; NOT a Hammer Horror film)
82	* ''Film/TasteTheBloodOfDracula'' (1970) -- Dracula
83	* ''Film/ScarsOfDracula'' (1970) -- Dracula
84	* ''Film/ThePrivateLifeOfSherlockHolmes'' (1970) -- Mycroft Holmes
85	* ''Film/{{Julius Caesar\|1970}}'' (1970) -- Artemidorus
86	* ''Film/TheHouseThatDrippedBlood'' (1971) -- John Reid
87	* ''Film/HannieCaulder'' (1971) -- Bailey
88	* ''Film/DeathLine'' (1972) -- Stratton-Villiers, [=MI5=]
89	* ''Film/DraculaAD1972'' (1972) -- Dracula
90	* ''Film/HorrorExpress'' (1972) -- Prof. Saxton
91	* ''Film/NothingButTheNight'' (1973) -- Col. Charles Bingham
92	* ''Film/{{The Wicker Man\|1973}}'' (1973) -- Lord Summerisle
93	* ''Film/{{The Three Musketeers\|1973}}'' (1973) and ''The Four Musketeers'' (1974) -- Rochefort. His EyepatchOfPower has been a standard part of the character's portrayal ever since.
94	* ''Film/TheSatanicRitesOfDracula'' (1973) -- His last appearance as Dracula
95	* ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' (1974) -- Francisco Scaramanga, the [=titular=] villain
96	* ''Film/CircleOfIron'' (1978) -- Zetan
97	* ''Film/ReturnFromWitchMountain'' (1978) -- Dr. Victor Gannon
98	* ''Film/ArabianAdventure'' (1979) -- Voulim Rahbar
99	* ''[[Film/NineteenFortyOne1979 1941]]'' (1979) -- Capt. Wolfgang von Kleinschmidt
100	* ''Film/ThePassage'' (1979) -- The Gypsy
101	* ''Film/OnceUponASpy'' (1980) -- Marcus Valorium
102	* ''Film/GoliathAwaits'' (1981) -- John [=McKenzie=].
103	* ''Film/AnEyeForAnEye1981'' -- Morgan Canfield
104	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLastUnicorn'' (1982) -- King Haggard
105	* ''Film/TheReturnOfCaptainInvincible'' (1983) -- Mr. Midnight. According to his autobiography, he took the role specifically because it would give him the opportunity to [[TheCastShowOff show off his musical talents]] in a film - and he ended up being one of only two of the major actors in the film to do his own singing.
106	* ''Film/HowlingIIStirbaWerewolfBitch'' (1985) -- Stefan Crosscoe
107	* ''The Disputation'' (1986) -- King James of Aragon
108	* ''Film/TheLandOfFarAway'' - Kato the Knight.
109	* ''Film/{{Treasure Island\|1990}}'' (1990) -- Blind Pew
110	* ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'' (1990) -- Dr. Catheter
111	* ''Film/FunnyMan'' (1994) -- Chance Callum
112	* ''[[Film/PoliceAcademy Police Academy: Mission to Moscow]]'' (1994) -- Cmndt. Alexandrei Nikolaivich Rakov
113	* ''Film/TaleOfTheMummy'' (1998) -- Sir Richard Turkel
114	* ''Jinnah'' (1998) -- Mohammed Ali Jinnah
115	* ''Film/{{Sleepy Hollow\|1999}}'' (1999) -- Burgomaster
116	* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' Trilogy (2001 - 2003) -- Saruman the White
117	* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/AttackOfTheClones'' (2002) and ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' (2005) -- [[Characters/StarWarsCountDooku Count Dooku]]
118	* ''[[Film/TheCrimsonRivers Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse]]'' (2004) -- Heinrich von Garten
119	* ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' (2005) -- Dr. Wilbur Wonka
120	* ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'' (2005) -- Pastor Galswells
121	* ''Film/TheGoldenCompass'' (2007) -- First High Councilor
122	* ''Film/{{Triage}}'' (2009) -- Joaquín Morales, he had said this would be his last major role due to age
123	* ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'' (2010) -- Jabberwocky
124	* ''Film/BurkeAndHare'' (2010) -- Old Joseph
125	* ''Film/SeasonOfTheWitch'' (2011) -- Cardinal D'Ambroise
126	* ''The Resident'' (2011) -- August, this was the first movie produced by the newly-revived [[Film/HammerHorror Hammer Films]].
127	* ''Film/{{Hugo}}'' (2011) -- Monsieur Labisse
128	* ''Film/TheHobbit'' trilogy (2012 - 2014) -- Saruman the White
129	* ''Angels in Notting Hill'' (2015) -- The Boss / Mr. President. His final roles, through voice acting.
130
131	[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
132
133	* He was the traditional voice actor for [-DEATH-] in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' adaptations including Sky One's ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'', but not ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'' (which had the late Creator/IanRichardson, who did a great job as well).
134	* Appeared in a miniseries adaptation of ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' as Lucas de Beaumanoir.
135	* He appeared twice in ''Series/{{The Avengers\|1960s}}''. The first one as Professor Frank N. Stone and his Duplicate in "Never, Never Say Die", and the second one as Colonel Mannering in "The Interrogators".
136	* Played the wandering wizard Olwyn in ''Series/TheNewAdventuresOfRobinHood''.
137	* He played Flay in the BBC miniseries adaptation of ''Literature/{{Gormenghast}}''. In another case of his having met the author, he and Mervyn Peake were casual acquaintances; apparently they were always meeting in Harrods' library when Lee went to borrow books.
138	* In 2000 at least he has played ''M.R. James'' in a series of televised recreations of James's Christmas Eve recitals of Ghost Stories.
139	* Had a role in Creator/{{HBO}}'s first major mini-series, an adaptation of ''Literature/TheFarPavilions'' in 1984.
140	* He hosted ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in 1978 (season 3 episode) with musical guest Meat Loaf. Not counting the monologue and introducing the musical guest, Lee was only in three sketches: a ''My Fair Lady'' parody where he teaches Gilda Radner's Baba Wawa to speak proper English, a one-off situational sketch where he plays The Grim Reaper who visits a little girl the night her dog died, and a one-off political sketch where he plays a Van Helsing-esque hunter sent to drive a stake in the heart of all the news about the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.
141	* He played Sam Rees, the ArcVillain for the fourth story, "The Rameses Connection", of the 90s revival of ''Series/{{The Tomorrow People\|1973}}''.
142
143	[[AC:Literature]]
144
145	* He narrated the audiobook of Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin'', the tragic tale from ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' edited together into a complete standalone work.
146
147	[[AC:{{Music\|Tropes}}]]
148	* He had been the narrator on several Music/RhapsodyOfFire's songs, and he even sings in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZDc0js-m2Q The Magic of the Wizard's Dream]]''. ''[[{{Omniglot}} In four different languages.]]'' This amount of awesome cannot be made up!
149	* He narrated in the Manowar album ''Battle Hymns MMXI''.
150	* His symphonic metal album ''[[Music/{{Charlemagne}} Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross]]'' featured a full voice cast, ''two'' metal bands (Music/{{Manowar}} and Music/RhapsodyOfFire), and ''a 100 piece orchestra''.
151	** Listen to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5HZOemIcys this]] and see if you can sit still (i.e. no bouncing, conducting, head-banging, jamming, singing) - He shed the blood of four thousand Saxon men!
152	** The follow-up, ''Charlemagne: the Omens of Death'', is full-blown HeavyMetal, with music by [[Music/JudasPriest Richie Faulkner]].
153	* He has also had several speaking and singing parts in ''At Dawn in Rivendell'' and ''Leaving Rivendell'': two albums collecting various poems and songs from Tolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' trilogy. Calling him an PromotedFanboy doesn't even come close.
154	* He was the narrator on Bob Johnson and Peter Knight's[[note]]formerly of Steeleye Span[[/note]] rock opera version of ''Literature/TheKingOfElflandsDaughter''; he also played the King.
155
156	[[AC:VideoGames]]
157
158	* He voiced [=DiZ=]/[[spoiler:Ansem the Wise]] to ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' and its follow-up ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2''. Creator/CoreyBurton plays him in all other appearances, and even dubbed over Lee's lines for the ''[[UpdatedRerelease HD 1.5 [=ReMIX=]]]'' CompilationMovie of ''358/2 Days''[[note]]although some of Lee's lines from ''358/2 Days'' were reused in the ''HD 2.5 [=ReMIX=]'' version of ''Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix''[[/note]].
159	* Reprised his role of Scaramanga for ''VideoGame/GoldeneyeRogueAgent''
160	* He provided the voice for Overlord Lucan D'Lere in ''VideoGame/EverQuestII''
161	* The two sampled songs from ''[[Music/{{Charlemagne}} Charlemagne: the Omens of Death]]'', "Let Legend Mark Me as the King" and "The Ultimate Sacrifice", are available on ''VideoGame/RockBand'' and ''VideoGame/RockBandBlitz''.
162
163	[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
164
165	* He also played [-DEATH-] in the ''Welcome to Discworld'' short and in the {{Animated Adaptation}}s of ''Literature/SoulMusic'' and ''Literature/WyrdSisters''.
166
167	!! Tropes associated with Christopher Lee's roles:
168
169	* AffablyEvil: Applies to most characters he plays, the dialogue being key.
170	* AwesomeDearBoy: He agreed to appear in ''Film/DeathLine'' in a single scene for minimum wage, solely because he wanted to act with Creator/DonaldPleasence. As one of the biggest names in the cast, he even got an AndStarring credit despite his small role.
171	* BeardOfEvil: Became part of his look in his later years.
172	* TheCastShowoff: Quite a few films showed off his fencing skills (Count Dooku's 'Makashi' lightsaber form was developed to take advantage of it), and ''Film/TheReturnOfCaptainInvincible'' shows off his impressive singing pipes.
173	* ChronicallyKilledActor: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr-GMvJ4sZY Oh]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHQSJ9CJ17I most definitely]]. A side effect of being cast as so many villains. His autobiography talks about his daughter and her friends watching TV and playing a guessing game called "How will Daddy die this time?"
174	* CoolOldGuy: While he was famous throughout his entire life, his work in ''Star Wars'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'' introduced him to a new generation of fans in the early 2000s, despite him being nearly 80 years old at the time.
175	* CreatorBacklash: While he often had a love-hate relationship with Hammer Studios, eventually he got just plain tired of talking about the Dracula films.
176	* DeletedRole: His roles were cut from the films ''My Brother's Keeper'' and ''Saraband for Dead Lovers''.
177	* DoingItForTheArt: He believed in ''Film/TheWickerMan1973'' so much that he did the film for free. He also paid for the press tour out of his own pocket.
178	* EvilBrit: Played this role several times.
179	* EvilIsBigger: It's easier to get villainous roles when you're 6'5" (1.96 m).
180	* EvilIsHammy: He could certainly be bombastic when the role called for it.
181	* EvilOldFolks: He could still play menacing, charismatic villains in his eighties and even his nineties.
182	* EvilSoundsDeep: Definitely.
183	* LargeAndInCharge: Directors often made use of his 6'5" stature by casting him as leaders.
184	* LivingLegend: Literally ''everything'' about his life was remarkable. The son of an Italian countess, through her a direct descendant of UsefulNotes/{{Charlemagne}}, and the cousin of Creator/IanFleming, he met the assassins of UsefulNotes/GrigoriRasputin, witnessed the last ever execution by [[OffWithHisHead guillotine]], was a spy and Nazi hunter, an accomplished fencer, an opera singer, a heavy metal artist, spoke 9 languages, and was the only actor appearing in the ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' trilogy to have met Creator/JRRTolkien himself. He was [[Film/HorrorOfDracula Dracula]], [[Film/TheWickerMan1973 Lord Summerisle]], [[Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun Scaramanga]], [[Film/AttackOfTheClones Count]] [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Dooku]] and [[Film/LordOfTheRings Saruman the White]]. You'd be hard-pressed to find any actor with a more amazing life.
185	* MultipleLanguagesSameVoiceActor: He dubbed King Haggard in the German version of ''Film/TheLastUnicorn'' for no fee, out of love for the film.
186	* OldShame:
187	** He was so ashamed of ''Film/HowlingIIStirbaWerewolfBitch'', that when he met Creator/JoeDante on ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'', he apologised to him for being in such a bad sequel to his film.
188	** He didn't care for ''Police Academy: Mission to Moscow'' either.
189	** He disliked the later Hammer Dracula films for how far they strayed from the book. The studio basically had to blackmail him into doing them by accusing him of costing everyone who'd be working on the films a job.
190	** ''The End of the World'' was another regret.
191	* PlayingAgainstType:
192	** Those used to him always playing the monster in all those Hammer Horror films will probably be surprised to see his supporting role as Paul Allen (no, [[Film/AmericanPsycho not that one]]) in ''Film/TheTwoFacesOfDrJekyll'', who is a crass gambler in love with Jekyll's wife, or his role as the threatened Sir Henry Baskerville in the Hammer ''Hound of the Baskervilles''.
193	** While famous for playing some of the most famous villains in literature such as Dracula and Saruman, he also played Sherlock Holmes, one of the most famous heroes in literature, three times. He is also one of the few actors to have played both Sherlock ''and'' Mycroft Holmes at various points.
194	** He also had a heroic role in ''Film/TheDevilRidesOut'', and played a [[CoolOldGuy kindly old bookseller]] in ''Film/{{Hugo}}''.
195	** His last major film appearance was playing a pre-FaceHeelTurn Saruman in ''Film/TheHobbit''.
196	* PlaysGreatEthnics: Early in his career he had trouble finding roles as Englishmen because casting directors thought his Italian heritage made him look too "foreign". As a result, he's played Germans, Italians, French, Arabs, Chinese, the founder of Pakistan...it's probably easier to mention ethnicities he ''hasn't'' played.
197	* ProductionPosse: He had a very healthy working relationship with director Terence Young, who gave Lee his first acting role (in the 1948 film ''Corridor of Mirrors'') and directed him in several other small-to-medium sized roles before Lee received his big break in ''Film/TheCurseOfFrankenstein'' and ''Film/HorrorOfDracula''.
198	* PromotedFanboy: When it came to playing Saruman in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Film/TheHobbit'', especially as he actually ''met'' J.R.R. Tolkien back in the day.
199	* StarMakingRole: Frankenstein's monster in ''Film/TheCurseOfFrankenstein''.
200	* ThoseTwoActors: He worked with Creator/PeterCushing in an astonishing ''twenty-two movies together.'' Their first two films were ''Film/{{Hamlet\|1948}}'' (1948) and ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), two major Class-A productions where they both had minor roles where their characters never met. Then they co-starred in ''Film/TheCurseOfFrankenstein'' (Cushing was Frankenstein, Lee was the Monster) and a beautiful partnership, and friendship, was made.
201	%%* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Even when the overall film is no good, Lee himself has such gravitas that he pretty much ensures by nature of being ''himself'' that he will be one of the most memorable parts of it, and you can reasonably assume he's still going to give a good performance. %% General example. Name a specific example
202	* TypeCasting: If you see Christopher Lee in a movie, he's probably the villain, or at least a {{Jerk With a Heart Of Gold}}. This was intentional on Lee's part. He loved playing the bad guy. However, Msr Labisse in ''Hugo'' is somewhat against the type.
203	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
204	** He was supposed to play Dr. No in the [[Film/DrNo film of the same name]] but the filmmakers chose Joseph Wiseman instead. He did get to play a different Bond villain later, though.
205	** He was also offered Creator/LeslieNielsen's role in ''Film/{{Airplane}}'', but turned it down because he had trouble understanding the script.
206	** Both Lee and Creator/PeterCushing were offered the role of Dr. Loomis in ''Film/{{Halloween 1978}}''. Lee had said that turning down the role was one of the worst mistakes he'd made in his career.
207	** He turned down the role of The Specialist in ''Music/{{Tommy}}'', as he was in Thailand filming ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''.
208	** He was supposed to play Father Malone in ''Film/TheFog1980''.
209	** He declined to play a Fu Manchu spoof in ''Film/TheKentuckyFriedMovie'', but only because they would not rename his 'A Fistful of Yen' character "Christopher Lee."
210	** He was considered for Judge Doom in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''.
211	** He was supposed to play King Balor in ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy''.
212	** He was considered for Dr. Hans Fallada in ''Film/Lifeforce1985''.
213	** He was considered to replace the late Creator/RichardHarris as Dumbledore in ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban''.
214	** He turned down the role of Anton Arcane in ''Film/SwampThing''.
215	** He was seriously considered for Mr. Dark in ''Literature/SomethingWickedThisWayComes''.
216	** One of the reasons Lee was so excited to play King Haggard in ''Film/TheLastUnicorn'' was because "it's the closest I'll ever get to playing ''Theatre/KingLear''."
217	* WickedCultured: Many of his characters.

Context Creator / ChristopherLee