One Of The Lord Of The Rings Actors Had Almost Died Twice In WWII – Gentside UK

The Lord Of The Rings actor Christopher Lee played Saruman in the most epic saga of all time. He passed away at the age of 93 in London in 2015. But did you know he was a member of the SAS during the Second World War?

Christopher Lee is mostly famous for his portrayals of villains in Dracula and J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings as Saruman. He's become an icon on the big screen, but the truth is: his life is even more epic than his movies.

Christopher Lee was born in 1922 in Belgravia, London, an Italian contessa and a British army officer, he was educated privately and join the Royal Air Force in 1940 when he turned 18, attaining the rank of flight lieutenant. Before the United Kingdom joined the conflict, Lee had already worked with Finland in their Winter War against the Russians as a volunteer.

He then was attached to the prosecutor of the SAS (Special Air Services) known as the Long-range Desert Group, in North Africa. He became an intelligence officer and performed up to 5 missions a day.

Among his numerous victories, he helped to retake Sicily thanks to his expertise on Russia, survived malaria six times and climbed the Mt. Vesuvius just days before it blew its top off.

During the war, he moved from the LRDP to Winston Churchill's Special Operations Executives, whose missions are, to this day, classified. When asked on the matter, Christopher's answer is a little chilling:

On a more positive note, Christopher Lee also had an incredible opera-trained voice and made a heavy metal album Charlamagne: By The Sword and the Cross, which got him a 'spirit of Metal' award.

Pretty badass.

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One Of The Lord Of The Rings Actors Had Almost Died Twice In WWII - Gentside UK

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero