Sir Christopher Lee who played Jinnah dies at 93

Christopher described his role as Jinnah as 'the most important role I have ever played'


Entertainment Desk June 11, 2015
Christopher described his role as Jinnah as 'the most important role I have ever played'. PHOTO: TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

Sir Christopher Lee who played Jinnah in his 1998 biopic  has died aged 93.

The legendary actor, who also appeared in Lord of the Rings, passed away on Sunday at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, sources close to his family told the Telegraph.

In an interview with a local radio show Christopher described Jinnah as an 'important film' and cited a number of different reasons for doing it. "I think that the film Jinnah, is an extremely important film for many reasons and it should be seen now. The reasons, and there are quite a few of them: One, it shows the true meaning of Islam, Islam means submission to the will of God, it does not mean terrorism, fundamentalism.

"Secondly it shows the creation of a Muslim state and how it came into being. How the founder of that nation achieved this and again, it has nothing to do with all the dreadful things that are happening recently," said the actor.

He was full of praises for the Father of the Nation and for him it was the most important role he played as an actor.

"It is a story of a true Muslim and the people around him who decided that the Muslims of India need a country of their own," he said. "They say there are still seven million Muslims living in India but of course Pakistan was created in 1947. The man responsible for this was Muhammad Ali Jinnah: known of course to Pakistan as the Quaid-e-Azam which means 'the great leader'.”

The actor who was knighted in 2009 for his services to drama and charity had once said about Jinnah, "For me as an actor, it is certainly the most important role I have ever played, because the responsibility on my shoulders was immense. I went to the country he founded. I was there for ten weeks playing the leader of the nation, the creator of the nation in the country he created in front of his own people," said Christopher.

Sir Christopher had been treated at the hospital for respiratory problems and heart failure in the last three weeks.

According to the publication, Lady Lee opted to delay the news of his death until family members were told.

The star has played a number of memorable roles, like Saruman in the Lord of the Rings film franchise. He also made a name for himself as Bond villain Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974 and played Count Dooku in two Star Wars motion pictures.

Besides Jinnah and Lord of the Rings, Christopher appeared alongside Veronica Carlson in Dracula has Risen from the Grave, as well as The Wicker Tree, Dark Shadows, Hugo and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies last year.

He was due to star in Lars Ole Hansen movie The 11th.

Here's what the legendary actor has to say about playing Jinnah:

[embed width="625"]

[/embed]

Hearing about his death, people took to Twitter to express their sorrow:



https://twitter.com/aurAdil/status/608971399261134848






https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/608967064129294336

https://twitter.com/VicArmstrong/status/608973683705675776

COMMENTS (8)

Imran Hanif | 8 years ago | Reply Ironic to see the overwhelming grief at this loss (Which is of course not uncalled for) in many sections of Pakistani media, when back in 1998 the same media of Pakistan (With few exceptions) went vitriolic on the choice of Sir Christopher Lee for Jinnah. Sir Lee definitely did justice to the complex role of the founder of Pakistan in that memorable but mediocre movie and to me that role alone is enough to solidify his legacy as a great actor of contemporary times. May your soul rest in peace Sir and God bless you eternally.
Raz | 8 years ago | Reply Great actor he was. "Jinnah" - the most underrated movie. Simply brilliant. Very real to life epic biographical movie of a great leader and founder of PK. He played and portrayed Jinnah so well.
VIEW MORE COMMENTS
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ