10 Movie Scenes Even More Impressive When You Know The Truth
8. Christopher Lee's Thorough Understanding Of Stabbing Sounds - The Return Of The King
For those not in the know, Christopher Lee lived a rather storied life in the time before he immortalised himself on screen with roles in Dracula, Star Wars, and The Lord of the Rings, to seriously name but a few.
He was, among many things, a member of the Royal Air Force during WWII, an occupation that led to him very much experiencing the harsh realities of war up close. So much so, that when Lee's character of Saruman was required to be stabbed during the making of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the actor had a rather specific piece of feedback.
After Jackson tried to get Lee to scream during the death scene, the actor simply replied by asking him, "Have you any idea what kind of noise happens when somebody's stabbed in the back? Because I do."
Lee proceeded to explain that the breath is actually driven out of the body during the stabbing, producing a sort of gasping sound. Jackson wisely left Lee to his own devices from that point whilst shooting this moment, sensing that the star had what he classed as "expert knowledge" when it came to this brutal act.