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{{actor
{{actor
| image=[[Image:Christopher Lee.jpg]]
| image=[[File:Christopher Lee.jpg|250px]]
| name=Christopher Lee
| name=Christopher Lee
| lifetime=[[May 27]], [[1922]]
| lifetime=[[27 May]], [[1922]]
| played=[[Saruman]]
| played=[[Saruman]]
| film=[[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]]
| film=[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy]]
| played2=
| played2=[[Saruman]]
| film2=
| film2=[[The Hobbit (film series)|''The Hobbit'' film trilogy]]
| imdb=[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000489/ IMDB]
| imdb=[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000489/ Profile]
|}}
}}
''' Christopher Frank Carandini Lee''' portrayed [[Saruman]] in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]] films. Lee has a long history with [[J.R.R. Tolkien|J.R.R. Tolkien's]] fiction; he is one of the few living actors that knew Tolkien personally and makes it a habit to read his books once a year, which he has done for the past five decades. [http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/17/film.rings.saruman.ap/index.html] He had originally tried out for the part of [[Gandalf]], but it was later areed that he would be more suited as Saruman. During the filming of the trilogy, Lee often acted as a consultant on the material.
'''Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee''' is an English actor, who portrayed [[Saruman]] in [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy]], [[The Hobbit (film series)|''The Hobbit'' film trilogy]], and read the [[The Children of Húrin (audiobook)|''The Children of Húrin'' audiobook]].


Lee has also performed with the [[Tolkien Ensemble]] on their CDs ''At Dawn in Rivendell'' and ''Leaving Rivendell''. He sang the role of [[Treebeard]], as well as reciting numerous other poems.
==Life==
Lee has a long history with [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s fiction; he read ''[[The Hobbit]]'' after leaving the Royal Air Force in [[1945]], and since ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' came out, he read all Tolkien's books once a year. Lee also had the experience of actually meeting Tolkien in person (making him the only individual involved in the film trilogy to do so):


==Quotes==
{{Blockquote|We were sitting there talking and drinking beer, and someone said, "Oh, look who walked in." It was Professor Tolkien, and I nearly fell off my chair. I didn't even know he was alive. He was a benign looking man, smoking a pipe, walking in, an English countryman with earth under his feet. And he was a genius, a man of incredible intellectual knowledge. He knew somebody in our group. He (the man in the group) said "Oh Professor, Professor..." And he came over. And each one of us, well I knelt of course, each one of us said "how do you do?" And I just said "Ho.. How.. How..."|<ref>{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://christopherleeweb.com/forums/front-page-news/interview-christopher-lee-ian-mckellen-and-john-rhys-0|articlename=Interview with Christopher Lee, Ian Mckellen, and John Rhys|dated=|website=[http://christopherleeweb.com/ Christopherleeweb.com]|accessed=12 June 2013}}</ref>}}
{{quote|(on Tolkien) The greatest inventor of language and legend in my lifetime.|Christopher Lee}}
{{quote|It's just going to be...I'm trying to think of the right word - without making it sound like the usual fashionable superlative. I think it will create film history. I think it's going to have the biggest impact, on screen, of anything of the last 40 or 50 years|Christopher Lee, SFX Magazine June #65}}
{{quote|Saruman is number one. Saruman is, very definetly, the most brilliant, the most powerful, with the greatest intellect and the greatest knowledge. Gandalf...well he's number two. But Saruman's whole character becomes perverted and distorted and he lusts for power and gradually, as it very often does, the old famous quote 'power corrupts and absoloute power corrupts absoloutely'.|Christopher Lee, Fox's Quest for the Ring}}


== External Links ==
Lee always envisioned himself as being [[Gandalf]], so when he read that [[Peter Jackson]] would be adapting his bedside book, he immediately called his agent.  
* [http://www.christopherleeweb.com/ Official Website]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lee Wikipedia entry]


===Jackson===
Although he realized he was too old to play Gandalf, he read the part. He did not get it, but was called back as Saruman instead. He had never been in a movie with the actual Gandalf, [[Ian McKellen|Sir Ian McKellen]], but the two quickly became friends, being the oldest actors on the set (though Lee was 17 years older). When McKellen was cast as Gandalf, Lee was 78 years old and McKellen was 61.
Lee shot most of his scenes in [[Wellington]], in the main studio, but also shot one scene in Wellington's national park. He visited [[New Zealand]] four times, the longest time being ten weeks. He later did some post-synching in London.
While jet-lagged, Lee broke his hand smashing it against a wall. Several shots of him in the finished films show him carefully hiding this bandaged left hand.
===Other projects===
Known for his booming voice, Christopher Lee has sung operas, and performed with the [[Tolkien Ensemble]] on their CDs ''[[At Dawn in Rivendell]]'' and ''[[Leaving Rivendell]]''. He sang the role of [[Treebeard]], as well as reciting numerous other poems.
Lee has recounted his life and his connections with Tolkien's work in the foreword to [[Chris Smith]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare]]'', and in chapter 74, titled "Spellbinder", of his autobiography, ''Lord of Misrule''.
Lee agreed to reprise his role as Saruman for [[The Hobbit (film series)|''The Hobbit'' (film series)]] on the condition that he did not have to fly out to New Zealand to be filmed.
==Roles==
* [[2014]] - ''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]'' - Saruman
* [[2012]] - ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ]]'' - Saruman
* [[2007]] - [[The Children of Húrin (audiobook)|''The Children of Húrin'' (audiobook)]] - Narrator
* [[2005]] - ''[[At Dawn in Rivendell]]'' - [[Treebeard]]
* 2004 - ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age]]'' - Saruman
* [[2003]] - ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'' - Saruman (extended edition)
* 2003 - [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (video game)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (video game)]] - Saruman (archive footage)
* 2003 - ''[[Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King]]'' - Himself
* 2003 - ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien: Origins of Middle-earth]]'' - Himself
* [[2002]] - ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' - Saruman
* 2002 - [[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (video game)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (video game)]] - Saruman
* [[2001]] - ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' - Saruman
* 2001 - ''[[Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' - Himself
* 2001 - ''[[Quest for the Ring]]'' - Himself
* 2001 - ''[[A Passage to Middle-earth]]'' - Himself
==Quotations==
{{Blockquote|What Professor Tolkien achieved is unique in the literature of my lifetime. Indeed, in my opinion, he had reached the peak of literary invention of all time. Nothing like it has ever existed, and probably never will.|Christopher Lee, foreword to ''[[The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare]]''}}
{{Blockquote|It's just going to be...I'm trying to think of the right word - without making it sound like the usual fashionable superlative. I think it will create film history. I think it's going to have the biggest impact, on screen, of anything of the last 40 or 50 years|Christopher Lee, SFX Magazine June #65}}
{{Blockquote|Saruman is number one. Saruman is, very definitely, the most brilliant, the most powerful, with the greatest intellect and the greatest knowledge. Gandalf...well he's number two. But Saruman's whole character becomes perverted and distorted and he lusts for power and gradually, as it very often does, the old famous quote 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'.|Christopher Lee, Fox's [[Quest for the Ring]]}}
==Awards==
* [[2002]] - '''[http://www.cinemaclips.com/PFCS.htm PFCS Award]''', Best Acting Ensemble, ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]''
* [[2003]] - '''[http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com/ OFCS Award]''', Best Ensemble, ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]''
* 2003 - '''PFCS Award''', Best Acting Ensemble, ''Peter Jackson's The Two Towers''
==External links==
* '''[http://www.christopherleeweb.com/ Official website]'''
* {{WP|Christopher Lee}}
{{references}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Christopher}}
[[Category:Actors and actresses]]
[[Category:Actors and actresses]]
[[Category:Narrators]]
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:People by name]]
[[Category:The Lord of the Rings (film series) cast]]


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[[fi:Christopher Lee]]

Revision as of 16:20, 24 April 2014

Christopher Lee.jpg
Christopher Lee
Lifetime27 May, 1922
PortrayedSaruman in:
 The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
PortrayedSaruman in:
 The Hobbit film trilogy
IMDbProfile

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee is an English actor, who portrayed Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, The Hobbit film trilogy, and read the The Children of Húrin audiobook.

Life

Lee has a long history with Tolkien's fiction; he read The Hobbit after leaving the Royal Air Force in 1945, and since The Fellowship of the Ring came out, he read all Tolkien's books once a year. Lee also had the experience of actually meeting Tolkien in person (making him the only individual involved in the film trilogy to do so):

We were sitting there talking and drinking beer, and someone said, "Oh, look who walked in." It was Professor Tolkien, and I nearly fell off my chair. I didn't even know he was alive. He was a benign looking man, smoking a pipe, walking in, an English countryman with earth under his feet. And he was a genius, a man of incredible intellectual knowledge. He knew somebody in our group. He (the man in the group) said "Oh Professor, Professor..." And he came over. And each one of us, well I knelt of course, each one of us said "how do you do?" And I just said "Ho.. How.. How..."
—[1]

Lee always envisioned himself as being Gandalf, so when he read that Peter Jackson would be adapting his bedside book, he immediately called his agent.

Jackson

Although he realized he was too old to play Gandalf, he read the part. He did not get it, but was called back as Saruman instead. He had never been in a movie with the actual Gandalf, Sir Ian McKellen, but the two quickly became friends, being the oldest actors on the set (though Lee was 17 years older). When McKellen was cast as Gandalf, Lee was 78 years old and McKellen was 61.

Lee shot most of his scenes in Wellington, in the main studio, but also shot one scene in Wellington's national park. He visited New Zealand four times, the longest time being ten weeks. He later did some post-synching in London.

While jet-lagged, Lee broke his hand smashing it against a wall. Several shots of him in the finished films show him carefully hiding this bandaged left hand.

Other projects

Known for his booming voice, Christopher Lee has sung operas, and performed with the Tolkien Ensemble on their CDs At Dawn in Rivendell and Leaving Rivendell. He sang the role of Treebeard, as well as reciting numerous other poems.

Lee has recounted his life and his connections with Tolkien's work in the foreword to Chris Smith's The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare, and in chapter 74, titled "Spellbinder", of his autobiography, Lord of Misrule.

Lee agreed to reprise his role as Saruman for The Hobbit (film series) on the condition that he did not have to fly out to New Zealand to be filmed.

Roles

Quotations

What Professor Tolkien achieved is unique in the literature of my lifetime. Indeed, in my opinion, he had reached the peak of literary invention of all time. Nothing like it has ever existed, and probably never will.
—Christopher Lee, foreword to The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare

It's just going to be...I'm trying to think of the right word - without making it sound like the usual fashionable superlative. I think it will create film history. I think it's going to have the biggest impact, on screen, of anything of the last 40 or 50 years
—Christopher Lee, SFX Magazine June #65

Saruman is number one. Saruman is, very definitely, the most brilliant, the most powerful, with the greatest intellect and the greatest knowledge. Gandalf...well he's number two. But Saruman's whole character becomes perverted and distorted and he lusts for power and gradually, as it very often does, the old famous quote 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'.
—Christopher Lee, Fox's Quest for the Ring

Awards

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Interview with Christopher Lee, Ian Mckellen, and John Rhys", Christopherleeweb.com (accessed 12 June 2013)
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