Christopher Lee dies at 93, considered 'Jinnah' his best performance
Reportedly, Lee died at a hospital where he was being treated for heart failure
(Web Desk/Dunya News/AFP) - Tall, pale and with a deep resonating voice, British actor Sir Christopher Lee, who played Pakistan’s founding father in Jinnah The Movie passed away on Thursday.
Despite the fact Christopher Lee himself considered playing Jinnah his best performance, he is and will forever be remembered in the Western world for his spine-chilling performance as Dracula in the cult Hammer Horror movies.
The 93-year-old appeared in more than 250 films and television shows, including "The Lord of the Rings", "Star Wars" and "The Man with the Golden Gun", but could never shake off his image as the bloody-thirsty vampire.
Lee died in his home city of London, the local authority which issued his death certificate said.
According to The Daily Telegraph newspaper, he died in hospital, where he had been treated for respiratory problems and heart failure over the preceding three weeks.
The Hammer films opposite Peter Cushing in the 1950s launched Lee s movie career, and although he later expressed frustration at being typecast, he entrenched his image by playing a succession of exotic villains.
"They re more interesting, because there s a greater variety you can apply: you can be very cruel or charming, amusing or dangerous," Lee said.
However, he criticised the gratuitous violence of many modern films, arguing the power of suggestion was more terrifying -- something he mastered early on, scaring the wits out of viewers with his piercing gaze.
Lee considered Jinnah his best performance
Lee considered his portrayal of Pakistan s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah in the little-seen "Jinnah" (1998) as his "best performance, no question".
Answering a question about his favourite performance at a presser, Lee said:
“Well, it’s easy. It’s a film you never seen… unfortunately … it’s the film which should be seen,” he said.
“All of you know that there is a nation called Pakistan. In 1997 I went to Pakistan and I spent 10 weeks in Pakistan with Indian actors, with British actors, with Pakistani actors and I played a man called Muhammad Ali Jinnah”
He added “he was the founder of Pakistan with a great vision, incorruptible, great integrity, brilliant man… friend of Gandhi […] and he founded Pakistan and I played it. It’s truthfully true, historically accurate “
“It’s about a Muslim leader, a Muslim politician… he was not a fundamentalist, he was not a terrorist, he was not a man sent to kill other people… he was not Osama Bin Ladin, he was not Al Qaeda,” Lee went on to say.
“Because this is a story of a Muslim leader… people in the West who do not really understand and don’t know about his history, they get worried, they get frightened, they think My God if we put this picture on in the theater maybe somebody could put a bomb there or set fire to the place… it’s possible but for me it’s a great tragedy and for everybody connected to the film… because it is a very good picture, it is actually my best performance. No question, no question and it’s also historically true.”
Trailer of Jinnah The Movie starring Christopher Lee as Jinnah
But for many young fans he will be best known as Count Dooku in the "Star Wars" prequels and as Saruman in the films based on J. R. R. Tolkien s "The Lord of the Rings".
As Saruman, Lee used his voice and steely gaze to maximum effect as the wizard corrupted by power.
Lee married former Danish model Gitte Kroencke in 1961 and had one daughter, Christina. The actor s agent said the family would not be making any comment.
