Exclusive: Christopher Lee On The Hobbit He may play Saruman again
Speaking to Christopher Lee earlier this week, as you do, we discovered that the venerable 86-year-old has hopes of dusting off his wizard’s robes to play Saruman again in Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of The Hobbit.
Now you’re probably asking how the evil white wizard could possibly show his face again when he’s not even featured in The Lord Of The Rings prequel. Well consider the fact that the mooted two-film adaptation will probably be forced to add plenty of new material and Lee’s encyclopaedic knowledge of his character could fill in the gaps.
“I’ve read the books time and again,” said the 86-year-old. “Originally Saruman The White and the rest of the wizards, or the Istari as they call them, were immortal. There were five of them, two of them never appear, I know their names but they never appear, and the only three that are mentioned are Saruman The White, Gandalf The Grey and Radagast The Brown who you never see – so basically it’s two wizards.
“They lived for thousands of years and they were sent to the earth and they are virtually immortal. When it all started, Saruman was the noblest, the finest, the bravest, the most dependable and reliable of them all, he was number one. But somewhere, somehow, and it was never actually explained, he turns and it’s probably the Palantír (the wizard’s crystal ball thingy) that makes Saruman realise that if Sauron can do this, why can’t I do it and Saruman wants to become The Lord Of The Rings himself.”
“I’d be interested in seeing how that transition from good to evil occurred and, yes, of course I would return to the role if I was asked.”
So there you go, assuming Guillermo’s not the kind of guy to hold a grudge (apparently Lee turned down the role of King Balor in Hellboy II: The Golden Army) and assuming he’s got some space to fill in The Hobbit parts one and two, he could do worse than to get a willing Christopher Lee back in the robes again.
Surely Christopher Lee is too evil to be knighted? Only kidding, he is a legend - he can name all the British executioners, speak about seven languages, is the tallest leading man, been in the most on screen sword fights ever, and done loadsa films. I bow down to him. ... Read More
Yep, this is the one piece of casting that will be crucial for F2, presuming the writers will be going down that route of the treachery of Saruman. Just as with McKellen, this casting is a no brainer. ... Read More
And since we are talking about the guy, shouldn't he be SIR Christopher Lee by now? (unless he's already been offered one and turned it down, which I totally respect by the way) ... Read More
If you're going to pad out The Hobbit into 2 films (as they have said they will be) surely the first place to start would be Gandalf and Saruman teaming up to push the Necromancer of Dol Guldur out of Mirkwood (who turns out to be Sauron and takes up residence in Mordor instead). Its mentioned in passing at the end of the Hobbit and could easily be made large scale and exciting? ... Read More
They could record a read through of all his dialogue
early so if he dies during filming they can replace him digitally visually.
I thought Peter Weir was the best suggestion for these films. Del Toro's ok I guess. ... Read More
GDT best get a wiggle on and film his scenes sharpish,86 is old in anyones book and i would hate for him to 'retire' due to health reasons half way through.love to see him again though.good news indeed. ... Read More
