British screen icon Christopher Lee has passed away at the age of 93.
Christopher Lee 1922-2015: Entertainment world pays tribute to acting icon
The beloved actor notched up more than 280 screen credits across seven decades that saw him work with some of the biggest stars and filmmakers in Hollywood. Whether it was frightening the life out of us in Hammer horrors or duking it out with Jedis in Star Wars, Lee's films bridge multiple generations of moviegoers.
Digital Spy picks out six great Christopher Lee roles below...
1. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Hammer's first ever colour horror film helped to cement the studio as purveyors of fright cinema. Lee brilliantly brought to life Frankenstein's monster thanks to some then-cutting edge prosthetic make-up and a performance tinged with pathos.
Curse of Frankenstein boasted the dream team of Lee, Peter Cushing and director Terence Fisher, who later collaborated on Dracula and The Mummy. Frankenstein, though, was an early box office smash and helped make Hammer a success on the international stage.
2. Dracula (1958)
The definitive Christopher Lee role. Actors played Dracula before and since, but none of them were ever quite able to match the sheer terror or presence that Lee brought with his towering 6'5" frame.
He played Dracula on nine occasions spanning from 1958 to 1973 and left an immeasurable stamp on the role. However, it's his first outing that's by far and away the best thanks to the striking Gothic atmosphere courtesy of director Terence Fisher and able support from his frequent Hammer co-star Peter Cushing.
3. The Wicker Man (1973)
After playing the Prince of Darkness for the final time in The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Lee was eager to explore fresh terrain. He did just that playing Lord Summerisle in horror classic The Wicker Man.
Lee considered this one of his best films, and as the years have rolled by it feels like he's been proved right. Dubbed "the Citizen Kane of horror movies" by magazine Cinefantastique, its cult status has grown and grown, and the film even spawned a Nicolas Cage-led remake and a belated 'spiritual' sequel - 2011's The Wicker Tree - that Lee himself starred in.
4. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Lee was a step-cousin to James Bond author Ian Fleming and reportedly in the running to play Dr No in the first Bond movie. 12 years later he finally got to face 007, playing the triple-nippled assassin Francisco Scaramanga.
Golden Gun may not be the finest instalment in the Bond series, but Lee's duelling scenes with Roger Moore were absolute dynamite. Lee played Scaramanga as the evil flipside of 007, making him one of the secret agent's deadliest foes.
5. The Lord of the Rings (2001-2012)
Peter Jackson got his start in low-budget horror, so it's little surprise that he turned to one of the genre's big icons when it came time to bring The Lord of the Rings to the big screen. He brought gravitas and that booming voice to the part of Saruman the White, and even provided the voice of the character across multiple LOTR video games.
A decade on, he returned to the role on the big screen for Jackson's three-film adaptation of The Hobbit. Notably, Lee was the only Middle-earth cast member to have met creator JRR Tolkien.
6. Star Wars (2002-2008)
The Star Wars prequels may not be fan favourites, but the films were never lacking when it came to villains. George Lucas cast Lee as Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and his furious duels with Yoda, Anakin and Obi-Wan were highlights of the prequels.
Despite being well into his 80s at the time of filming, Lee did nearly all of his own lightsaber stunts with only minimal use of a stuntman on cutaways. Lee also voiced the character in the 2008 animated movie The Clone Wars, which later spun off into a hit TV series.
What were your favourite Christopher Lee movies? Leave your memories of the acting great in the space below.
Movies Editor
Simon has worked as a journalist for more than a decade, writing on staff and freelance for Hearst, Dennis, Future and Autovia titles before joining Cision in 2022.
