Friday 12 June 2015

Christopher Lee (1922 - 2015)


How to even write this one? So I write a list of the things he acted in? We'd be here all day. Do I talk about the first time I saw him in something? I don't remember what that was, from my point of view this man always existed. The man's legacy was monolithic.
If you're of a certain age he was the definitive Dracula and if you're of any other age was an iconic Dracula. He was in Star Wars, The Avengers, James Bond, The Wicker Man, The Lord Of The Rings, the Discworld adaptations, he recorded metal albums about Charlemagne (I am not kidding and they are well worth listening to).
He was also of that great generation of actors who were just great characters in their own right. Some highlights from his Wikipedia biography have him, as a child, meeting the assassins of Rasputin (one of whom he would later play), wartime operations as part of the SAS, which he'd never discuss due to the Official Secrets Act, being the direct reason Hammer adapted Dennis Wheatley's novels and, my personal favourite, being tricked into narrating a softcore porn movie.
Most of all, though, there's that voice. That deep, resonant and commanding voice. That voice sold Saruman's authority and Dracula's sexual power, it even had the power to elevate his more middling roles like Star Wars' Count Dooku into memorable performances.

The Grand Pantheon of British Actors has lost another of the greats and he shall be missed. 

1 comment:

SallyP said...

He will indeed be missed.