Current Release: April 28th, 2009 | Vol. XXX Iss. 10

Photo courtesy of imdb.com

Student interviews star of "Lord of the Rings"

By Katie Morris

If you’ve ever been to the movies, you’ve probably seen a Christopher Lee film. He’s been acting for roughly 60 years and has between 250-300 screen credits to his name. He has worked along side the likes of Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood and countless more. Most recently, Lee has starred as the corrupted wizard Saruman in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Count Dooku in “Star Wars”, Willy Wonka’s father in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and Pastor Gaswells in “The Corpse Bride”. If you’re a horror enthusiast, you’ve probably seen at least one of his films, as he is a horror icon and considered by many to be the ultimate Dracula.

Lee, age 80, was born in 1922 in Belgravia, London to Jeffrey Tolp Lee and Contessa Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano.

His mother was a noted Edwardian beauty and a member of the prestigious Carandini family. The Carandini family name goes all the way back to the 1st century and is associated with King Charlemagne. The Carandini family is one of the privileged few who is allowed to bear the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire.

“My father was a professional soldier,” said Lee, “A colonel who had been in the Boa War in South Africa and also in World War I, which was called the Great War. He was a very distinguished decorated soldier.”

Lee’s parents divorced when he was very young, and he didn’t see his father again until he was roughly 14 or 15 years old. Both of his parents remarried, his mother marrying a man named Hartcourt Rose, who was a banker.

Lee was encouraged to go into acting by his cousin, Nicolo Carandini, who was the first Italian ambassador to Britain after WWII, which Lee fought in. After the war, Lee wasn’t sure what to do next, and it was his cousin who suggested the career of acting and informed Lee of his family’s long tradition in theatre.

“He said, ‘Have you ever thought about being an actor because your great grandparents founded the first opera company in Australia in the middle of the 19th century’,” said Lee. “And they were all wonderful singers obviously, the mother and five daughters and two men…two sons. One of whom was my grandfather, my mother’s father.”

So Lee took the path of the stage and has been acting ever since. His latest film is a TV movie entitled “Pope John Paul II”. As the title suggests, the movie is about the late Pope John Paul II, who died recently in 2005. In Pope John Paul II, Lee played a Polish Cardinal named Wyzinski.

Lee described Wyzinski as, “a very grim, horses rear, unsmiling person. Very reserved, very determined. Ironed will.”

Lee said that Wyzinki was not particularly impressed by Pope John Paul II as a young priest.

“Obviously he saw something, and gradually over the years he saw more and more and more. And, became an enormous supporter of him,” Lee said.

Through his career, Lee has worked with countless other famous actors. Lee is a personal friend of superstar Johnny Depp, his favorite actor, and Tim Burton, who he says is his favorite director to work with.

“He is number one. He is the most talented, the most versatile actor as a whole and he’s to the challenge,” Lee said of Depp, “He’ll take anything on. He’s wonderful. And, a very good personal friend. So, I hope to do something more with him.”

Lee says that not many people have that affect on him, and he has worked with many co-stars.

“I’ve worked with a lot of huge stars, but I’ve had very small parts and work with people like Burt Lancaster and Gregory Peck,” said Lee. “And, people like that you know.”

When asked about what advice he would give any aspiring actors, Lee actually says that he would try to discourage anyone aiming to go into the business now, as it’s highly competitive and no longer as talent based as it was.

“(It’s) the nature of the industry,” said Lee. “So many of the people making the films don’t really seem very interested in whether somebody is really very good or not. It’s a question of how much they get paid. Or how hot they are this month.”

Lee said that this just doesn’t work. It may work for a few years, but it all falls in the end. He also said he feels that there are no more screen legends in the business.

“There are no giants today,” said Lee, “There are some stars, yes. And, there are some very good actors, yes. And, sometimes the two do go together.”

Lee said that Katherine Hepburn and Robert Mitchum were probably the last of the great stars and that when Kirk Douglas passes, the end of the era will pass with him.

However, for anyone who is dead set on going into acting, Lee said, “Just get out there and do it. Then, you get experience and keep your eyes open and learn and watch and listen.”

Lee said that the best way to get into acting is to go out and act and gain experience. He also said that anyone who wants to act, or indeed, do anything else related to the business, should also be willing to listen and to learn. He feels determination is a must as the profession is full of ups and downs.

“There is a great deal of lying and cheating that occurs and you must learn to cope with it and never give up,” said Lee. “Never…never…never give up. It’s a lifetime if that’s what you really want to do. It’s your whole life never to retire. And, you have to be dedicated. You have to be.”

When asked about which of his films was his favorite to make, Lee said, “The best film that I ever made was a film called the ‘Wicker Man.’”

Lee went on to say, “The most important film that I ever made is available only on DVD in this country at the moment. And, I made that eight years ago, in Pakistan, where I played the Founder of the Nations. And, the film is called “Jimmah.” Of course, the most successful films that I have ever made, I am proud to say would be the “Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars.” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is in good shape as well. I think the “Corpse Bride” will be a big hit.”

One of the roles for which Lee is most well known today is that of the corrupted wizard Saruman in “The Lord of the Rings”. It was a special movie for Lee, who had always wanted to be in a film adaptation of the books.

“I was introduced to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ when it first came out,” said Lee, “I liked it. I still think that it is unique. He didn’t just invent a new world, he invented new languages which he actually learned to read, write and speak.”

Lee hopes to work more with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp in the future and his latest work, “Pope John Paul II” will be run on PBS. It will be in two segments, each one 100 minutes long. Lee plans to keep working, and it’s probably a good bet that he will continue to turn out classic, legendary performances.