Legendary actor Christopher Lee has passed away at the age of 93.
The beloved actor, who spent his earlier years frightening audiences in vintage Hammer horror movies like Dracula before going on to star as the central villain in major franchises like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, died after being hospitalized due to respiratory problems.
Your relationship with Lee's work probably depends on what era you grew up in. His career began in the mid '40s, with ongoing roles in classic gothic horror films like The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Horror of Dracula (1958), The Mummy (1959), Crypt of the Vampire (1964) and more.
These roles -- along with his iconic Dracula, a part he played well into the 1970s -- are what truly marked him as one of cinema's greatest villains. It's no wonder folks like Peter Jackson and George Lucas came looking for Lee when they were searching for the right actor to portray bad guys like Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels or the evil Saruman in Jackson's masterful Lord of the Rings trilogy.
They weren't the only ones who liked Lee's darker, freakier side, though, as Tim Burton was also a big fan and regularly cast the actor in movies like Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows.
And while Lee -- who was knighted in 2009 -- is most known for the bad guys he portrayed on-screen, the actor also surprised fans with an accomplished career as a heavy metal musician, releasing several albums like Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross and Charlemagne: The Omens of Death (Lee was said to be a direct descendant of Charlemagne, a former king and Roman emperor).
Last year, at 92 years old, Lee released a Christmas-themed heavy metal song, "Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing." At the time he said, "At my age, the most important thing for me is to keep active by doing things that I truly enjoy. I do not know how long I am going to be around, so every day is a celebration and I want to share it with my fans."
Celebrate life and do the things you truly enjoy. Leave it to one of history's greatest cinematic villains to deliver the most honest and poignant life advice.
And Christopher Lee's is a life we'll never stop celebrating. RIP.
