Christopher Lee dicusses Gandalf, Saruman and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Sir Christopher Lee, at University College Dublin (2011), discusses Gandalf and Saruman in J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings

http://www.ucd.ie/news/2011/11NOV11/091111-Christopher-Lee-honoured-by-UCD-La...

Legendary British horror actor, Sir Christopher Lee who portrayed the blood-sucking vampire Dracula in the 1958 Hammer Horror Film was awarded Honorary Life Membership by the UCD Law Society.

"We are honoured to present Sir Christopher Lee with Honorary Life Membership of the UCD Law Society. His corpus of work is truly legendary," says Francis McNamara, Auditor of the UCD Law Society.

"His dedication to his craft for more than half a century should serve as an inspiration to each and every one of us."

"His portrayal of the blood-sucking vampire Dracula in the 1958 Hammer Horror production terrified audiences throughout the world, and as a result Christopher Lee, who stands at 6 foot 5 inches tall, became one of the most recognisable faces and figures of cinema."

Previous recipients of Honorary Life Membership of the UCD Law Society include: Jessie Jackson, Bill Clinton, Jeremy Irons, and Seamus Heaney.

But it was not until the early 2000s that his career reached even higher heights from his appearances in two blockbuster film franchises: as Saruman the White in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003), and as Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones (2002).

Born in 1922 in London, England, Christopher Lee is of noble Italian ancestry on his mother's side (Carandini). His mother, Contessa Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano, was a noted Edwardian beauty and was painted by John Lavery, Oswald Birley and Olive Snell and sculpted by Clare Sheridan, a cousin of Winston Churchill.

The Carandini family is one of the oldest in Europe and traces itself back to the first century AD. It is believed to have been connected with the Emperor Charlemagne, and as such was granted the right to bear the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

In 2009, Lee (89) was knighted by Prince Charles in recognition of his lifetime contribution to the film and television industries. And this year (2011), he received a BAFTA Fellowship.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Gandal
• Christopher Lee
• Saruman
• Lord of the Rings
• The Two Towers
• University College Dublin
• UCD
• Law Society

[performingmonkey900]

The fact that he can just reel off the names of the two Blue wizards shows what a class act he is! Christopher Lee, a true legend of our and anyone's time. While I'm guessing his part in the Hobbit films will only be a scene or two I'm so pleased he's still a part of Tolkien's and Peter Jackson's world. It wouldn't be the same without him!

[PREZILLA2009]

He has one of the best man voices ever.

[TheBuldu]

ah, he'll never get old :)

[Seregfaroth]

I FUCKING love this guy.

[FacelessWarrior86]

HE IS AMAZING! MR LEE FTW!

[MrForrest1991]

Much respect for this man, he also has the greatest voice in the world.

[TaighTV]

I love how he never answers the question. Seems like a cool guy.

[thebakerman1]

For being 3 months shy of 90 years old he's done more in the past 5 years than I've done all my LIFE. And I see he's still in high demand and is working steadily according to his IMDB page. Very seldom have we ever seen the likes of a 90 year-old still working and being so highly regarded not for the memories of what he's done, but rather what he's recently done and is *still* doing in film and is contracted to do in the next year or two. It's utterly phenomenal what a 90 year-old can be today!

[jesustonight]

eye bags or tea bags



[BigNastySlice]

Him and Ian McKellen are so awesome.

[DemiathDoomhammer]

the blue wizards, Alatar and Pallando, probably had other names in Middle-Earth, as the rest of the group, Gandalf hardly ever used Olórin (except in Minas Tirith when he revealed his identity for the fellowship), and no one adressed Saruman as Curunír, or Radagast as Aiwendil.