The screen legend famous for roles in Count Dracula, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, Sir Christopher Lee  died in hospital on 7th June, aged 93 after suffering respiratory problems.

Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin has written a piece celebrating the life of a man whose “talent will outlast us all“:

“The thing about Sir Christopher Lee being dead is that it doesn’t immediately strike you as being much of a career setback.

For as long as he was an actor (which was a very long time indeed; his first film role was a one-line part in Terence Young’s baroquely strange romance Corridor of Mirrors, in 1948), his characters have often exuded – not immortality, exactly, but a kind of ennobled deathlessness.

You always sensed they’d been around for longer than was perhaps entirely natural, and would more than likely outlast you.”

Most memorable roles:

Count Dracula
Dracula (1958)
The Creature
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Henry Baskerville
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
Lord Summerisle
The Wicker Man (1973)
Francisco Scaramanga
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Dr Catheter
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Jinnah (1998)
Saruman the White
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-3)
Count Dooku
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Of course in his later years, Sir Christopher Lee, the world’s oldest man known to sing heavy metal, also released a Christmas single called ‘Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing’ back in December 2014. The song marked the third year The Hobbit star has released Christmas material following 2012’s “A Heavy Metal Christmas” and 2013’s “A Heavy Metal Christmas Too”.

Also back in May 2014, to coincide with his 92nd birthday, Sir Christopher released an album “Metal Knight”, which was a mini album featuring seven tracks, two of which are covers from the Man Of La Mancha musical which is based on the character Don Quixote.

Sir Christopher said: “As far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know. Single-handed, he is trying to change the world, regardless of any personal consequences. It is a wonderful character to sing.”

The Lord Of The Rings star started his second career a decade ago when he worked with the Italian symphonic metal band, Rhapsody Of Fire.

“I associate heavy metal with fantasy because of the tremendous power that the music delivers,” he said.

He uploaded a YouTube video in which he explains the songs, including ‘The Impossible Dream’ and ‘My Way’, popularised by Frank Sinatra:

R.I.P. Sir Christopher Lee