Christopher Lee Biography

Fast Facts

• Appointed as Commander of the Order of the British Empire at the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2001
• Advocated for children's needs through UNICEF, the group that works to stop diseases like pneumonia and malaria from killing children in Africa
• Served in the Royal Air Force in Intelligence and the Special Forces during World War II
• Born to model Contessa Estelle Marie and Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Trollope Lee, who fought in the Boer War and World War I
• Achieved a career breakthrough when he played the monsters in "The Curse of Frankenstein" and "Dracula․"
• Made his film debut in "Corridor of Mirrors," in which he was not allowed to stand up because his height would make him tower over his fellow actors
• Quote: "In my mind Dracula, the Mummy and Frankenstein's monster are driven figures, unable to help themselves, eventually out of control like a runaway train, and consequently very much alone․"
• Quote: "I think acting is a mixture of instinct, imagination and inventiveness․ All you can learn, as an actor, is basic technique․"
• Played Saruman in the "Lord of the Rings" franchise, Count Dooku in two "Star Wars" installments and Dracula on numerous occasions, all of which made him an icon of the horror film genre
• Released the metal album "Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross," for which he received the 2010 Spirit of Metal award
• Was not required to kneel while receiving his knighthood by Prince Charles in 2009 due to his age
• Was the only cast member from the "Lord of the Rings" series to have met author J․R․R․ Tolkien