Sir Christopher Lee is among the finest actors of his generation, having appeared in some of the biggest film franchises of the 2000s. Lee played the role of Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels directed by George Lucas. He also had a pivotal supporting role as Saruman in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies.
During an interview before his passing, Lee spoke about his work in both the mega franchises. However, the veteran actor made one clever observation that despite what fans of the J. R. R. Tolkien-authored books believe, proves Lucas’ epic space opera saga is far superior in one department. Here is what Christopher Lee had to say about comparing the two franchises.
Christopher Lee Explained the One Aspect That Makes Star Wars Better Than Lord of the Rings
Sir Christopher Lee debuted in the role of Count Dooku in 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. His Star Wars debut was sandwiched between his appearances in the first and second installments of The Lord of the Rings franchise. Lee played the role of Saruman in the fantasy franchise based on the novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien.
During an interview, Lee opened up about his experience in the galaxy far, far away, and the Middle Earth. Given the commercial and mainstream success of both films, a comparison between them has always existed. However, Lee revealed the one aspect that made the George Lucas franchise superior.
I naturally was amazed at the brilliance of George Lucas. You have to remember that in the case of a film like Lord of the Rings, they were taken from books that had already been written.
Lee stated the above, praising Lucas for constructing a global juggernaut franchise from scratch and his decades of dedication toward it. The veteran actor argued that creating a beloved epic fantasy franchise from scratch was a daunting task that Lucas had accomplished.
Lee added that since the films weren’t based on any source material they had a sense of anticipation around them which kept the fans hooked. In contrast, the Lord of the Rings franchise had to stick to the source material with little wiggle room and risked offending fans by deviating too far from the source material.
Christopher Lee Revealed Why He Preferred Star Wars Role Over Lord of the Rings
During the same interview, Lee was also quizzed about which of his two iconic roles between Count Dooku and Saruman he preferred. Despite playing the iconic wizard in almost six films (and a post-humous voice appearance in the upcoming animated film), Lee admitted that he enjoyed his Star Wars role more.
To be that character is an actor’s dream in many ways.
Lee made the above statement about playing Count Dooku, explaining the appeal of playing a mysterious character whose motivations and fate are unclear to the fans when he first appears.
Furthermore, Lee added that Dooku is essentially a human but in a galaxy far, far away. As a result, there were subtle nuances he had to deal with while playing the character who made an instant impact on the overall saga with his appearance in the fifth film. Lee also enjoyed exploring Dooku as a former Jedi who has turned against the order, making the character fun for him.
The Star Wars movies are streaming on Disney+ and the Lord of the Rings movies are streaming on Max.
