Ten fun facts about Christopher Lee

Fact 1
Lee initially portrayed villains and became best known for his role as Count Dracula in a string of popular Hammer Horror films.

Fact 2
He was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009.

Fact 3
Lee’s mother was a famous Edwardian beauty who was painted by Sir John Lavery as well as by Oswald Birley and Olive Snell, and sculpted by Clare Frewen Sheridan.

Fact 4
He served in the Royal Air Force and intelligence services during World War II, including serving as an intelligence officer with the Long Range Desert Group in Northern Africa.

Fact 5
He received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013.

Fact 6
Lee considers his best performance to be that of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998), and his best film to be the British horror film The Wicker Man (1973).

Fact 7
He was always noted as an actor for his deep, strong voice.

Fact 8
He has also taken to using his singing ability, recording various opera and musical pieces.

Fact 9
He trained in South Africa as a pilot, but eyesight problems forced him to drop out.

Fact 10
In addition to making films in the United Kingdom, Lee made films in mainland Europe: he appeared in two German films, Count Dracula, where he again played the vampire count, and The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism.

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