Christopher Lee

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May 22, 1922

Christopher Frank Carandini

Birgit Krøncke (m. 1961)

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Actor

2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

2012 Dark Shadows

2012 The Hunting of the Snark

2011 Hugo

2011 Season of the Witch

2011 The Resident

2010 Burke and Hare

2010 Alice in Wonderland (voice)

2010 The Heavy

2010 The Wicker Tree

2009 Glorious 39

2009 Triage

2009 Boogie Woogie

2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars (voice)

2008 The Colour of Magic (TV movie) (voice)

2007 The Golden Compass

2005 Pope John Paul II (TV movie)

2005 Corpse Bride (voice)

2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2005 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

2005 Greyfriars Bobby

2004 Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse

2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (extended edition)

2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

2002 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

2001 Les redoutables (TV series)

2000 Ghost Stories for Christmas (TV mini-series) (voice)

2000 In the Beginning (TV movie)

2000 Gormenghast (TV mini-series)

1999 Sleepy Hollow

1997-1998 The New Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)

1998 Jinnah

1998 Tale of the Mummy

1997 Wyrd Sisters (TV mini-series)

1997 The Odyssey (TV series)

1997 Soul Music (TV series) (voice)

1997 Ivanhoe (TV mini-series)

1996 The Stupids

1996 Princess Alisea (TV movie)

1996 Welcome to the Discworld (short)

1995 Moses (TV movie)

1994-1995 Street Gear (TV series)

1995 The Tomorrow People (TV series)

1995 Tales of Mystery and Imagination (TV series)

1994 A Feast at Midnight

1994 Police Academy: Mission to Moscow

1994 Funny Man

1993 Death Train (TV movie)

1992 Jackpot

1992 Double Vision (TV movie)

1992 The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (TV series)

1992 Incident at Victoria Falls (TV movie)

1992 Beauty and the Beast (video) (voice)

1991 Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (TV movie)

1991 Curse III: Blood Sacrifice

1991 Kabuto

1990 The Rainbow Thief

1990 The Care of Time (TV movie)

1990 Gremlins 2: The New Batch

1990 L'avaro

1990 Treasure Island (TV movie)

1989 Honeymoon Academy (video)

1989 Murder Story

1989 Fall of the Eagles

1989 La révolution française

1989 The Return of the Musketeers

1989 Around the World in 80 Days (TV mini-series)

1988 Columbian Connection

1988 Olympus Force: The Key

1987 The Girl

1987 Mio in the Land of Faraway

1986 The Disputation (TV movie)

1986 Un métier du seigneur (TV movie)

1986 Shaka Zulu (TV mini-series)

1986 Jocks

1985 Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch

1985 Mask of Murder

1984 The Rosebud Beach Hotel

1984 Faerie Tale Theatre (TV series)

1984 The Far Pavilions (TV mini-series)

1983 The Return of Captain Invincible

1983 New Magic (short)

1983 House of the Long Shadows

1982 The Last Unicorn (voice: English version) (voice: German version)

1982 Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story (TV movie)

1982 Massarati and the Brain (TV movie)

1982 Safari 3000

1981 Goliath Awaits (TV movie)

1981 An Eye for an Eye

1981 Evil Stalks This House (TV movie)

1981 The Salamander

1981 Desperate Moves

1980 Charlie's Angels (TV series)

1980 Once Upon a Spy (TV movie)

1980 Serial

1979 1941

1979 Bear Island

1979 Captain America II: Death Too Soon (TV movie)

1979 Jaguar Lives!

1979 Nutcracker Fantasy (voice)

1979 Arabian Adventure

1979 The Passage

1978 The Pirate (TV movie)

1978 Caravans

1978 Circle of Iron

1978 Return from Witch Mountain

1978 How the West Was Won (TV mini-series)

1977 Starship Invasions

1977 End of the World

1977 Meatcleaver Massacre

1977 Airport '77

1976 Dracula père et fils

1976 Night of the Askari

1976 To the Devil a Daughter

1976 Killer Force

1976 The Keeper

1975 Space: 1999 (TV series)

1975 The Butcher, the Star and the Orphan

1975 Diagnosis: Murder

1974 The Man with the Golden Gun

1974 The Four Musketeers

1973 The Wicker Man

1973 The Three Musketeers

1973 The Satanic Rites of Dracula

1973 Great Mysteries (TV series)

1973 Poor Devil (TV movie)

1973 The Creeping Flesh

1973 Dark Places

1973 Nothing But the Night

1973 Death Line

1972 Panic in the Trans-Siberian Train

1972 Dracula A.D. 1972

1971 Hannie Caulder

1971 I, Monster

1971 The House That Dripped Blood

1970 Scars of Dracula

1970 The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

1970 Julius Caesar

1970 One More Time (uncredited)

1970 Taste the Blood of Dracula

1970 Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht

1970 Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion

1970 Il trono di fuoco

1970 Umbracle

1970 Scream and Scream Again

1969 The Magic Christian

1969 The Oblong Box

1969 The Castle of Fu Manchu

1967-1969 The Avengers (TV series)

1968 Curse of the Crimson Altar

1968 Dracula Has Risen from the Grave

1968 The Blood of Fu Manchu

1968 Eve

1968 The Devil Rides Out

1967 Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel

1967 Five Golden Dragons

1967 Theatre of Death

1967 Night of the Big Heat

1967 The Vengeance of Fu Manchu

1966 The Brides of Fu Manchu

1966 Circus of Fear

1966 Rasputin: The Mad Monk

1966 Dracula: Prince of Darkness

1965 The Face of Fu Manchu

1965 Ten Little Indians (voice) (uncredited)

1965 The Skull

1965 She

1965 Dr. Terror's House of Horrors

1964 The Gorgon

1964 Il castello dei morti vivi

1964 The Devil-Ship Pirates

1964 La cripta e l'incubo

1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV series)

1963 The Whip and the Flesh

1963 La vergine di Norimberga

1963 Katarsis

1962 Sherlock Holmes und das Halsband des Todes

1962 The Devil's Agent

1962 The Pirates of Blood River

1962 Das Rätsel der roten Orchidee

1962 Stranglehold

1961 Hercules in the Center of the Earth

1961 Das Geheimnis der gelben Narzissen

1961 Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond (TV series)

1961 Taste of Fear

1961 The Terror of the Tongs

1960 The Hands of Orlac

1960 The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll

1960 The City of the Dead

1960 Beat Girl

1960 Too Hot to Handle

1959 Tempi duri per i vampiri

1959 Tales of the Vikings (TV series)

1959 The Mummy

1959 The Treasure of San Teresa

1959 The Man Who Could Cheat Death

1959 The Hound of the Baskervilles

1959 William Tell (TV series)

1958 Corridors of Blood

1958 Battle of the V-1

1958 Dracula

1958 White Hunter (TV series)

1958 A Tale of Two Cities

1958 Ivanhoe (TV series)

1958 O.S.S. (TV series)

1957 The Truth About Women

1957 Bitter Victory

1957 The Gay Cavalier (TV series)

1957 Manuela (voice) (uncredited)

1957 The Curse of Frankenstein

1957 The Traitor

1957 Fortune Is a Woman

1956-1957 Assignment Foreign Legion (TV series)

1957 Ill Met by Moonlight

1956-1957 The Errol Flynn Theatre (TV series)

1956 Sailor of Fortune (TV series)

1956 The Adventures of Aggie (TV series)

1953-1956 Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents (TV series)

1956 Beyond Mombasa

1956 The Battle of the River Plate

1956 Port Afrique

1956 The Scarlet Pimpernel (TV series) (uncredited)

1956 Private's Progress (uncredited)

1956 Chevron Hall of Stars (TV series)

1955 Storm Over the Nile

1955 Alias John Preston

1955 The Cockleshell Heroes

1954-1955 Tales of Hans Anderson (TV series)

1955 The Vise (TV series)

1955 Police Dog

1955 The Dark Avenger (uncredited)

1955 That Lady

1955 Crossroads (short)

1955 Moby Dick Rehearsed (TV movie)

1954 Colonel March of Scotland Yard (TV series)

1954 The Mirror and Markheim (short)

1954 Destination Milan

1953 Innocents in Paris(uncredited)

1952 Moulin Rouge (uncredited)

1952 Babes in Bagdad

1952 Paul Temple Returns

1952 Top Secrett (uncredited)

1952 The Crimson Pirate

1952 Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales (short)

1951 Valley of Eagles

1951 Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.

1950 Prelude to Fame

1950 They Were Not Divided

1949 Trottie True

1948 Scott of the Antarctic

1948 Saraband for Dead Lovers (scenes deleted)

1948 My Brother's Keeper (scenes deleted)

1948 Penny and the Pownall Case

1948 A Song for Tomorrow

1948 Hamlet (uncredited)

1948 One Night with You

1948 Corridor of Mirrors

1946-1947 Kaleidoscope (TV series)

Producer

2003 The Making of a Legend (video documentary) (producer)

1973 Nothing But the Night (producer - uncredited)

Appearances

2012 56th BFI London Film Festival (TV special)

2012 Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 (documentary)

2012 British Legends of Stage and Screen (TV series documentary)

2012 Shoot the Moon: The Making of 'Hugo' (video short)

2012 Shoot the Moon (The Making of 'Hugo') (video short)

2008-2011 Seitenblicke (TV series documentary)

2011 The Orange British Academy Film Awards (TV special)

2010 Christopher Lee - Gentleman des Grauens (TV documentary)

2010 On the Edge of War: Uncovering 'Glorious 39' (video short)

2010 Midnight Madness: The History of Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Films (TV series documentary)

2009 American Masters (TV series documentary)

2009 The Alan Titchmarsh Show (TV series)

2007 Visions from the Enchanted Lands (video)

2007 Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs (documentary)

2007 Prominent! (TV series)

2007 Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn (TV documentary)

2007 Hollywood Chinese (documentary)

2007 Ein Leben wie im Flug (TV movie)

2007 Caiga quien caiga (TV series)

2007 Amazon Trek: In Search of Vanishing Secrets (video documentary)

2007 100 Years Under the Sea: Shipwrecks of the Caribbean (video documentary)

2007 Bloody Jess (TV documentary)

2003-2006 Breakfast (TV series)

2006 2006 Women's World Awards (TV movie)

2006 Le grand journal de Canal+ (TV series)

2006 Morning Glory (TV series)

2006 Wogan Now & Then (TV series)

2006 Voices from the Underworld (video short)

2006 Tim Burton: Dark vs. Light (video short)

2006 The Witch's Dungeon: 40 Years of Chills (video documentary)

2005 2005 Women's World Awards (TV special)

2005 Planet Voice (TV series)

2005 'Star Wars': Feel the Force (TV documentary)

2005 Willkommen bei Carmen Nebel (TV series)

2005 Cast & Crew (TV series documentary)

2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Different Faces, Different Flavors (video documentary short)

2004 The Ultimate Film (TV documentary)

2004 Greasepaint and Gore, Part 2: The Hammer Monsters of Roy Ashton (documentary short)

2004 Greasepaint and Gore: The Hammer Monsters of Phil Leakey (documentary)

2003 National Geographic: Beyond the Movie - The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (TV documentary)

2003 Dracula's Bram Stoker (TV documentary)

2003 J.R.R. Tolkien: Origins of Middle-Earth (video documentary short)

2003 This Morning (TV series)

2003 Richard And Judy (TV series)

2003 The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (TV documentary)

2003 2003 World Awards (TV special)

2003 Christopher Lee: Mr. Holmes, Mr. Wilder (video documentary short)

2003 The 100 Greatest Movie Stars (TV documentary)

2003 The Making of a Legend (video documentary)

2003 From Hollywood to Borehamwood (TV series documentary)

2003 Christopher Lee: A Life in Films (TV movie)

2002 James Bond: A BAFTA Tribute (TV special)

2002 Happy Anniversary Mr. Bond (TV special)

2002 Best Ever Bond (TV documentary)

2002 Weta Workshop (video documentary short)

2002 From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in 'Episode II' (video documentary)

2002 2002 World Awards (TV special)

2002 Two Wizards (video documentary short)

2002 The Heaven and Earth Show (TV series)

2002 Leute heute (TV series documentary)

2002 Actor's Notebook: Christopher Lee (video documentary short)

2002 To the Devil... The Death of Hammer (video documentary short)

2001 Burnt Offering: The Cult of the Wicker Man (TV documentary)

2001 National Geographic Explorer (TV series documentary)

2001 Gomorron (TV series)

2001 Troldspejlet (TV series)

2001 Live Lunch (TV series)

2001 The Big Breakfast (TV series)

2001 A Passage to Middle-earth: Making of 'Lord of the Rings' (TV documentary)

2001 Quest for the Ring (TV documentary short)

2001 R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (TV special short) (uncredited)

2001 The Wicker Man Enigma (video documentary short)

2001 Once Upon a Time in Europe (TV series documentary)

2001 Wingspan (TV documentary)

2001 Îles du diable - L'archipel des mondes perdus (TV documentary)

2000 Death of an Empire (TV series)

2000 Legends (TV series documentary)

2000 Inside 'The Man with the Golden Gun' (video documentary short)

2000 Turning Points (TV series)

2000 Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend (video documentary short)

2000 Ian Fleming: 007's Creator (video documentary short)

1999 And the Word Was Bond (TV documentary)

1998 Ex-S (TV series documentary)

1998 Dare to Dream (documentary)

1997 A-Z of Horror (TV mini-series documentary)

1997 Strictly Supernatural (TV series)

1996 In Search of Dracula with Jonathan Ross (TV documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Witches (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Phantoms (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Mummies (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Mad Doctors (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Ghosts (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Frankenstein's Friends (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Dracula and His Disciples (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Boris Karloff (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Bela Lugosi (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Zombies (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Werewolves (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Mutants (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Man-Made Monsters (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Gory Gimmicks (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Girl Ghouls (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Dinosaurs (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Demons (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Blood-Drinking Beings (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Baron Frankenstein (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Aliens (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: The Walking Dead (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: The Monster Makers (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Sorcerers (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Scream Queens (video documentary short)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Maniacs (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Giants (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Witchcraft and Demons (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: The Frankenstein Family (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: The Evil Unseeable (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: The Count and Company (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: Freaks (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: The Double Demons (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror: The Aristocrats of Evil (video documentary)

1996 A Century of Science Fiction (video documentary)

1996 100 Years of Horror (video documentary)

1996 The Many Faces of Christopher Lee (video documentary)

1995 A Pleasant Terror: The Life and Ghost of M.R. James (TV documentary)

1995 In Search of James Bond with Jonathan Ross (TV documentary)

1993-1995 The Big Picture (TV series documentary)

1995 Gottschalk Late Night (TV series)

1994 Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (TV documentary)

1994 The Little Picture Show (TV series)

1994 Stern TV (TV series documentary)

1994 The Vampire Interviews (video documentary)

1993 Biography (TV series documentary)

1993 Le divan (TV series documentary)

1991 Això és massa! (TV series)

1991 Wahre Wunder (TV series)

1991 Fear in the Dark (TV documentary)

1990 ARD-Mittagsmagazin (TV series)

1990 Der große Preis (TV series)

1974-1990 This Is Your Life (TV series documentary)

1989 An Invitation to Remember (TV series)

1989 Nase vorn (TV series)

1988 WWF Club (TV series)

1988 Secret World (TV series documentary)

1987 Stars in der Manege (TV series documentary)

1987 Wetten, dass..? (TV series)

1987 Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood! (TV documentary)

1986 The Mind of David Berglas (TV series)

1985 The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes (video documentary)

1984 Tele-Illustrierte (TV series)

1984 Àngel Casas show (TV series)

1983 Sunday, Sunday (TV series)

1983 Auf los geht's los (TV series)

1983 Witness the Impossible (TV movie)

1983 Errol Flynn: Portrait of a Swashbuckler (video documentary)

1981 International Pro-Celebrity Golf: Six of the Best (TV series)

1968-1980 Whicker's World (TV series)

1980 The American Movie Awards (TV special)

1975-1979 The Mike Douglas Show (TV series)

1979 The Bob Wilkins Super Horror Show (TV documentary)

1978 Looks Familiar (TV series)

1978 The Tomorrow Show (TV series)

1978 Saturday Night Live (TV series)

1978 Saturn-Awards (TV documentary)

1977 Mysteries from the Unknown: The Occult (TV documentary)

1975 Celebrity Squares (TV series)

1975 Vem var Dracula? (documentary)

1975 Stars on Sunday (TV series)

1974 Clapper Board (TV series)

1974 Just a Nimmo (TV series)

1973 Russell Harty Plus (TV series)

1971 Treffpunkte (TV series documentary)

1971 Cuadecuc, vampir (documentary)

1971 Cinema (TV series documentary)

1971 Theatre Macabre (TV series documentary)

1970 London aktuell (TV series documentary)

1968 The Eamonn Andrews Show (TV series)

1967 Tonight with Dave Allen (TV series)

1967 Victims of Terror (documentary short)

Christopher Lees Treasury of Terror, Pyramid Publications, 1966

Christopher Lee's New Chamber of Horrors, Souvenir Press, 1974

More of Christopher Lee's New Chamber of Horrors

Christopher Lee's Archives of Terror, Warner Books, Volume I, 1975; Volume 2, 1976

Christopher Lee, Tall, Dark and Gruesome (autobiography), W. H. Allen, 1977 and 1999

Lord of Misrule: The Autobiography of Christopher Lee (autobiography, a revised and expanded edition of Tall, Dark and Gruesome), Orion Publishing Group Ltd., 2004

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Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA

1980 Nominated Saturn Award Best Actor for: Arabian Adventure (1979)

1979 Won Life Career Award

1979 Nominated Saturn Award Best Actor for: The Wicker Man (1973)

BAFTA Awards

2011 Won Academy Fellowship

Capri, Hollywood

2007 Won Capri Legend Award

DVD Exclusive Awards

2003 Nominated DVDX Award Best Audio Commentary (New for DVD) for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, John Noble, Craig Parker & Andy Serkis (Special Extended Edition)

Empire Awards, UK

2002 Won Lifetime Achievement Award

Evening Standard British Film Awards

2002 Won Special Award For lifetime achievement

Fanfestival

1993 Won Career Award

Fantasporto

1984 Won International Fantasy Film Award Best Actorm for his contributions to the fantasist film genre

Festróia - Tróia International Film Festival

2007 Won Golden Dolphin for his career

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

2008 Won Festival President's Award

London Critics Circle Film Awards

1994 Won Dilys Powell Award

MTV Movie Awards

2003 Won MTV Movie Award Best Fight for: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) Versus Yoda

2002 Nominated MTV Movie Award Best Fight for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Ian McKellen

2002 Nominated MTV Movie Award Best Villain for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Online Film Critics Society Awards

2003 Won OFCS Award Best Ensemble for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Bernard Hill, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham & Elijah Wood

Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards

2003 Won PFCS Award Best Acting Ensemble for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Bernard Hill, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham & Elijah Wood

2002 Won PFCS Award Best Acting Ensemble for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving & Elijah Wood

SFX Awards, UK

2003 Won SFX Award Lifetime Achievement Award

Screen Actors Guild Awards

2003 Nominated Actor Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture
for: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Shared with: Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Bernard Hill, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham & Elijah Wood

2002 Nominated Actor Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Shared with: Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving & Elijah Wood

Seattle International Film Festival

2003 Won Living Treasure Award

Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival

1983 Won Caixa de Catalunya Best Actor for: House of the Long Shadows (1983). Shared with: Vincent Price,
Peter Cushing, John Carradine & Ex-aequo

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There are many vampires in the world today - you only have to think of the film business.

I stopped appearing as Dracula in 1972 because in my opinion the presentation of the character had deteriorated to such an extent, particularly bringing him into the contemporary day and age, that it really no longer had any meaning.

In Britain, any degree of success is met with envy and resentment.

I've seen many men die right in front of me - so many in fact that I've become almost hardened to it. Having seen the worst that human beings can do to each other, the results of torture, mutilation and seeing someone blown to pieces by a bomb, you develop a kind of shell. But you had to. You had to. Otherwise we would never have won.

I was once asked what I thought was the most disquieting thing you could see on the screen and I said, "An open door."

I think acting is a mixture of instinct, imagination and inventiveness. All you can learn as an actor is basic technique.

Acting is like a snowstorm or perhaps a large empty vacuum. I'm not deluded by the fact that I'm getting all these offers for work, I'm very happy about it, but I know also that there is the other side and who knows, next year, they may not offer me anything. You never know.

I will play no more monsters. Dracula is different; he is such an exciting person.

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Christopher Lee is the son of Contessa Estelle Marie (née Carandini di Sarzano) and Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Trollope Lee of the 60th King's Royal Rifle Corps. Lee's mother was a famous Edwardian beauty who was painted by Sir John Lavery, as well as Oswald Birley and Olive Snell, and was sculpted by Clare F. Sheridan, a cousin of Sir Winston Churchill. Lee's maternal great-grandfather had been an Italian political refugee who sought refuge in Australia.

He studied at Summerfield Preparatory School and attended Wellington College.

He got started in films when his cousin Count Niccolo Caradini, Italy's first post war ambassador to Britain introduced him to Filipo Del Guidice of Two Cities Film.

At six feet five inches tall, British actor Christopher Lee was told early in his acting career that he could never achieve success because of his height. This seemed to be his fate until he was selected by Hammer Film Productions to play the Frankenstein monster in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957).

He volunteered to fight for the Finnish forces during the Winter War against the Soviet Union in 1939; however, as Lee admits in his autobiography, he and his fellow British volunteers were in Finland only a fortnight and kept well away from the Russian forces the whole time. He went on to serve in the Royal Air Force and intelligence services during World War II including serving as an Intelligence officer with the Long Range Desert Group. He trained in South Africa as a pilot but eyesight problems forced him to drop out. He eventually ended up in North Africa as Cipher Officer for No. 260 Squadron RAF and was with it through Sicily and Italy. Additionally, he has mentioned serving in Special Operations Executive, though all details of actions undertaken by members of the SOE are still classified. Lee retired from the RAF after the end of the War with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

Lee witnessed the execution of Eugen Weidmann, the last person to be publicly executed in France.

Since the mid 70s Lee has eschewed horror roles almost entirely, proving himself to be an extremely able and versatile actor.

He founded Charlemagne Productions Ltd. In 1972.

Lee's favorite director is Tim Burton and he has been a regular in many of Burton's films.

He is fluent in English, Italian, French, Spanish and German, and moderately proficient in Swedish, Russian and Greek.

He learned how to speak German by listening to Richard Wagner records.

Lee is a known cigar aficionado with a love for the Cuban cigar brand Montecristo.

He is something of an expert on J.R.R. Tolkien, and was the only member of the cast and crew to have met the author in person.

He read the Lord of the Rings trilogy once a year for decades, long before the film series ever got started.

He recorded various opera and musical pieces between 1986 and 1998 and released the symphonic metal album “Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross” in 2010.

He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to drama.

He was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to drama and charity. The ceremony took place at Buckingham Palace on 30 October 2009, and was carried out by HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales.

Was made "Officier des arts et lettres" by French culture minister J.J. Aillagon on December 11, 2002.

Lee is a supporter of the British Conservative Party.

He is a Commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

His hobby is gardening.

Roles Turned Down

King Balor in Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Dr. Sam Loomis in "Halloween" (1978)

Grand Moff Tarkin in “Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope” (1977)

Salary

Dracula (1958) $1,360

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