Dracula actor is knighted
Sir Christopher Lee honoured for services to drama
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MOVIE legend Sir Christopher Lee was knighted by the Prince of Wales yesterday.
Lee, 87, who was knighted at a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony, has appeared in more than 250 productions. He was honoured for services to drama and to charity.
He hailed the Hammer horror movies that made his name. The actor is famed for his roles as Count Dracula and other dark characters.
He joked: “I've done a lot of films that have become iconic, not necessarily because of me.” After the ceremony, Lee said Prince Charles “couldn’t have been nicer and was very easy to talk to”.
Lee became known for his performances opposite Peter Cushing in the Hammer movies. He admitted he had become typecast by the end of the 1960s.
He added that his role in the 1970 movie The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes allowed him to branch out.
He said: “Since then I’ve never been typecast, although I’ve played a lot of bad guys.” Hammer has been resurrected in recent years. Lee has recently finished filming his latest movie The Resident starring Hilary Swank.
Lee added: “What’s really important for me is, as an old man, I'm known by my own generation and the next generation.”
Other recipients at the investiture ceremony included Marina Dalglish, the wife of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, rock guitarist Joe Brown and cyclist Nicole Cooke.
