Christopher Lee's 10 Most Memorable Sci-Fi And Fantasy Roles

3. The Definitive Dracula

Christopher Lee
Hammer Films

The one role that horror fans will forever associate with Christopher Lee, and the role that he always feared would result in his being typecast, was Dracula. Beginning in 1958, Lee played Dracula a total of 10 times, mostly in the early 1970s, making him one of the most influential and enduring horror stars in cinematic history.

But Lee didn't stop at being Dracula. He'd already played Frankenstein's monster the year before starting his career as the Transylvanian count, and he went on to play other famous horror characters, including the Mummy, Fu Manchu, and Rasputin the mad monk. 

Along with Vincent Price and Peter Cushing, he formed part of a triumvirate that seemed to dominate a certain kind of cosy, very British, slightly horrific film for a decade or more, and a generation of fans can't thank him enough for all the wonderful late nights spent watching those timeless classics.

Contributor
Contributor

Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year. You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike