The Big Picture
- Christopher Lee holds the record for the actor who has died the most on-screen with 70 deaths.
- Lee played numerous villains in horror B-movies and became a celebrated horror icon for his performances as Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster. He later joined legendary franchises like James Bond and Star Wars, showcasing his versatile acting skills.
- Lee’s controversial death scene as Saruman was cut from
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
, leading to a feud with Peter Jackson.
When looking at the careers of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, it’s always impressive when stars opt to limit the amount of films they appear in so that the highest standards of quality can be ensured. Legendary actors like Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio have relatively small filmographies compared to their peers, but as a result, they have very few misses. The same can not be said of the great British actor Christopher Lee. One of the most beloved B-movie horror icons of all-time, Lee once held the record for more screen credits than any other actor.
Longevity was certainly an advantage in Lee’s career, as he first began appearing in films throughout the 1940s. Best known for his roles in genre films, Lee has terrified generations of moviegoers by playing some of the most ruthless villains in screen history. Despite the high output of roles he appeared in, Lee’s characters were rarely left with their safety intact by the time that his films concluded. With 70 onscreen deaths, Lee has been killed on screen more than any other actor.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron’s army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.
- Release Date
- December 17, 2003
- Runtime
- 201 minutes
Christopher Lee Broke Out Playing Iconic Villains
Lee was a veteran of World War II who had earned accolades for his service in the British Air Force, and first entered the film industry during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Despite his ambitions as a star, Lee’s early career primarily consisted of smaller roles in legendary productions. Between an uncredited appearance in Laurence Olivier’s Best Picture-winning adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and John Huston’s acclaimed version of Moulin Rouge, Lee earned a leg up in the industry by learning from some of the best creatives of the generation. In the subsequent decade, he would appear in over 30 B-movies, often playing eccentric villains.
By the time that he began his professional working relationship with the British company Hammer Film Productions, Lee already had a wealth of experience at his disposal. However, the small British studio gave Lee the opportunity to play some of the most iconic characters in horror film history, and deliver his own unique interpretation of the roles. Lee’s breakout role came in 1957 as Frankenstein’s monster in Terence Fisher’s The Curse of Frankenstein. It was a role that exemplified Lee’s physicality, but where he also brought a surprising amount of depth to the signature monster. Fisher’s version of The Curse of Frankenstein was a tragedy that focused on the heartbreaking relationship between the monster and the tormented genius scientist Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing). As befitting of the classic story, Lee’s version of the monster was given a tragic demise.
From ‘Count Dracula’ to ‘Dracula: Prince of Darkness’: Christopher Lee’s Dracula Films, Ranked
Every turn taken by the Lord of Misrule as the Prince of Darkness.
The triumvirate of Lee, Cushing, and Fisher would develop a successful working relationship as they tackled many other legendary horror characters, including 1959’s The Mummy. However, the role of Count Dracula in the 1958 film Horror of Dracula would become Lee’s most iconic role to date. It was not the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic novel, as Universal had released an iconic 1931 version starring Bela Lugosi, and F.W. Murnau’s 1922 German Expressionist film Nosferatu was often cited as one of the scariest films ever made. However, Horror of Dracula differed from previous adaptations due to its graphic on-screen violence. While it’s presumed that Lee’s Dracula perishes at the end of the story, he would reprise the role in six additional sequels.
Christopher Lee Joined Legendary Movie Franchises
Over the course of the mid-20th century, Lee had roles in many low budget and cult horror films, including his now iconic performance as Lord Summerisle in 1973’s The Wicker Man. However, the largest exposure he received to a widespread audience arguably came a year later when Lee was cast as the villainous Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun. A ruthless assassin with a personal vendetta against 007, Scaramanga instantly became recognized as one of the franchise’s greatest villains. While he ends up giving Roger Moore’s Bond a close call, Scaramanga is shockingly killed in The Man With The Golden Gun’s graphic final battle.
Like many of the great actors of his generation, Lee was courted for a role in the Star Wars prequel series. Unlike villains like Darth Maul and Jango Fett, Lee’s Star Wars character Count Dooku was a subtle and manipulative villain. A former Jedi Master who left the Order after training Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn, Dooku was seduced to join the dark side of the force by Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid). The hectic lightsaber duel that ends Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones once again gave Lee the chance to show his great sword fighting skills. While he manages to escape the film unscathed after a duel with a CGI version of Yoda, Dooku meets his demise at the hands of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) in the first act of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. However, he did return to give a brief vocal performance as the character in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Christopher Lee’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Death Was Controversial
A lifelong fan of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Lee was determined to earn a role in Peter Jackson’s ambitious adaptation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Despite originally auditioning for the role of the wizard Gandalf the Grey before it was handed to Sir Ian McKellen, Lee was cast as the villainous Saruman, the former white wizard who joins forces with the dark lord Sauron. While Saruman is killed in the original novel, Lee’s death scene was cut out of the theatrical version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Lee was furious at the changes that he felt fundamentally altered the text, and boycotted the film’s premiere in protest.
Despite their brief feud, Lee and Jackson settled their differences, allowing for Saruman to appear in The Hobbit trilogy. While the character did not appear in the original novel, new scenes were added that explained how the dark wizard first came to realize that Sauron had returned.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
