Christopher Lee hated being recognised as Dracula, says Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson

As a passionate admirer of Christopher Lee, I feel deeply moved by the poignant portrayal of his complex and multifaceted life in the Sky Arts documentary, “The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee.” Although he was widely recognized for his iconic roles in horror films, such as Dracula, it’s heartening to learn about his versatility and dedication to his craft.

This article first appeared in TopMob magazine.

Externally, Christopher Lee seemed to have everything one could desire: standing tall with a captivating charm, possessing a powerful voice that commanded attention. Moreover, he boasted an impressive repertoire of 250 film and TV roles before his passing in 2015 at the age of 93.

In 1957, his groundbreaking work was the British horror production titled “The Curse of Frankenstein,” where he portrayed the monster. A year after that, he assumed the lead role in “Dracula,” which later came to be known as his silver-screen burden.

Although Lee, who later portrayed various characters like a pagan leader in The Wicker Man, Bond villain Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, Saruman in Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, and even a Chinese criminal in five Fu Manchu movies, may seem to be typecast as a horror actor due to his role as the bloodthirsty count with fangs, this categorization was actually unfair.

A unique perspective on the life of Christopher Lee is offered by the Sky Arts documentary titled “The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee.” Instead of typical biographical methods, this production employs unseen archival material and a puppet, voiced by Peter Serafinowicz, to create an extraordinary illusion that revives the actor in a captivating way.

Despite a staggering amount of content to tackle, director Jon Spira remained unfazed by the challenge posed by the project.

He openly stated that he wasn’t overly fond of Lee’s artistic endeavors or the numerous movies produced by Hammer Studios where Lee appeared, and to be honest, his curiosity about Lee’s tale was more of an unexpected occurrence than a deliberate choice.

Spira mentions that they found an old episode of “This Is Your Life” featuring Christopher Lee from 1974 on YouTube. It seemed as though he was enduring the most difficult moments possible. Upon rewatching, it became evident that he was attempting to safeguard his own storyline.

People admired him for his strength, intelligence, education, athleticism, good looks, and charm, yet beneath the surface, he was just as flawed as everyone else. My intention is to share the tale of his hidden insecurities.

Previously employed by the British Film Institute, Spira had the privilege of accessing Lee’s interview archives within their library, as well as his personal collection of memorabilia stored in scrapbooks.

His career began in the early years and continued through the 1970s. If he appeared on television, he’d snap a picture of himself as there was no other means of recording it at the time. Interestingly, there are photos of projects that never saw the light of day, such as Orson Welles’ unfinished Moby Dick film… it’s quite remarkable.

In addition to delving into his body of work, The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee offers an in-depth look at the unique life journey of this versatile actor. It traces his background, from being raised by a military father and an aristocratic Italian mother, through his military service, his linguistic skills that proved valuable to the intelligence services, to his pursuit of Nazi war criminals.

Additionally, it seeks to explore whether Ian Fleming, Lee’s cousin, actually modeled the character of James Bond after him – an intriguing concept, though it may only be partially accurate.

The vintage material compiled by Spira is captivating, and the interviews with various individuals give it an additional layer. Actress Harriet Walter, Lee’s niece, describes her uncle as “soft as putty” yet someone who could never detach from Dracula. She further reveals that he had experienced a substantial amount of rejection, which was not widely known.

Director Peter Jackson, an admirer of the late actor Lee, revealed that this towering, refined, yet somewhat pompous figure expressed displeasure when Jackson requested his autograph on a Dracula poster. It appears that Lee desired acknowledgement as a multi-faceted performer and, unexpectedly, harbored an underlying insecurity during The Fellowship of the Ring filming.

Jackson remembers an instance when Lee was working alongside Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and “Ian approached me and mentioned, ‘You might need to talk to Christopher. He thinks he’s going to be fired by the end of the day. He believes he’s performing poorly, and you don’t appreciate him.’ This was quite upsetting! I made an effort to reassure him that he was doing exceptionally well.

In addition, it’s unavoidable that there are parts missing in Lee’s narrative that might never be explained, such as his supposed collaboration with intelligence services during the conflict, often referred to as his secret service involvement. This fact frustrated Spira, who was unable to access Lee’s military records, as officials repeatedly claimed “There’s nothing to see.” If Lee’s cover had been compromised, the secret service or MI5 would have denied any knowledge of him, regardless. John Landis, who worked with Lee on The Stupids, expressed a constant curiosity about Lee’s war experiences, to which Lee always responded, “John, I can’t!

Nonetheless, the documentary is fascinating, covering Lee’s singing career (encompassing everything from show tunes and arias to heavy metal, despite him being rejected from the Royal College of Music in his 30s, apparently due to his age) and the wonderful fact that he was 90 when he appeared in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows.

During his research for the documentary, Spira screened more than 150 of Lee’s films and openly admits to issues with quality control. “Some of them were terrible, a jumble, scattered. At times, I had to spend £200 on a bootleg from Japan, only to find it unwatchable upon arrival. However, the excitement was always in not knowing what you’d get. Lee always had the ability to surprise you.

In The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee, the climax unfolds when Lee participates in a TV interview in 2009, just after being knighted. During this conversation with a young presenter, he is addressed as “the king of horror.” However, Lee expresses disappointment that his lifelong achievements have been perceived to be less significant by this title.

As he expresses disapproval, she starts to grow more and more agitated. “It’s disheartening,” remarks Spira. “On one side, you might think he should have moved past it by then – wasn’t it just a trivial matter that he was portrayed as Dracula in a news segment on TV?

Concurrently, he excelled in an extraordinary career, producing movies across Europe due to his multilingual abilities, contributing significantly to cinema later on. I fervently hope that viewers will catch this documentary and subsequently explore some of his finest works, such as the feminist western “Hannie Caulder” featuring Raquel Welch.

“He took every performance he ever did seriously, and now he deserves to be taken seriously.”

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On Thursdays, you’ll find me immersed in “The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee” at 9pm, only on Sky Arts. If you haven’t subscribed to Sky TV yet, this could be the perfect opportunity to join in! Sign up today.

2024-10-24 10:40

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