He may have played an evil wizard (Saruman) but in real life, Sir Christopher Lee (1922-2015) experienced a little good magic; he had the great fortune of meeting J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973). Tolkien was the English writer who is probably best known for his children’s fantasy novel ‘The Hobbit’ (1937) as well as the later ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy (1954-1955). The trilogy was initially intended to be a single sequel to ‘The Hobbit’, but turned into a much larger work.

In a 2003 interview, Lee said the meeting happened “quite by chance” in a pub in Oxford, England. A dedicated fan of the books, Lee mustered up the courage to ask the already-famous writer, “How do you do?” Back then, he couldn’t have known he would someday star in Tolkien’s famous trilogy.

Lee tried out regularly for “wizard roles”, hoping to ready himself to be cast in a potential future role in ‘The Lord of the Rings’. His strategy paid off; he played Saruman in both ‘The Lord of the Rings’ (2001-2003) and ‘The Hobbit’ (2012-2014) film trilogies.

Lee had read the books when they originally were printed, and instantly became a devoted fan. “I still think ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is the greatest literary achievement in my lifetime,” he said. “Like so many other people, I couldn’t wait for the second, and then the third book. Nothing like it had ever been written.”

Sir Christopher Lee read ‘The Lord of the Rings’ once a year until his death in 2015; he had done so annually since the time it was published.

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