10 Insane Facts You Didn't Know About Christopher Lee

4. He Almost Died Doing His Own Stunts

According to Lee, the actor did all his own fight scenes, claiming he had "the scars to prove it" (even in his 80s, Lee was still coming away from film sets with broken bones). One prime story goes that, for 1955's The Dark Avenger, Sir Christopher filmed a fight scene with Errol Flynn, who was drunk and clearly flailing wildly, as he managed to break Lee's hand. Obviously, Lee just carried on filming, having already lived through a war. This was a typical show of resilience and professionalism from someone who was an honorary member of three different stunt unions, but for his first film made upon relocating to Hollywood, Christopher Lee displayed even greater dedication when he almost died in the name of accurate stunt-ing. For Airport '77 (you'd probably recognise it, as that film Airplane! basically remade, but as a giant parody), Lee had to play dead while underwater, without breathing apparatus. Reports say it almost killed Lee for real, so the Stuntmen's Union, recognising Lee's gargantuan balls, decided to award him the Union belt buckle for appearing so convincingly dead.