Christopher Lee, Metal Music Icon & 'Lord of the Rings' Movies Actor Dead at Age 93

Sir Christopher Lee, one of the most recognizable talents in the acting world, has this week passed away at the age of 93, leaving behind a career of memorable roles and iconic movies. You may recognize the actor for his roles in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, in which he portrayed the White Wizard Sarumon, or perhaps his portrayal of Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel films Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, but his career has been flourishing for decades, including prominent roles as Dracula in a series of films and portraying the villain in the James Bond classic, The Man with the Golden Gun. Maybe the coolest element of Lee's long and awesome life is that he recorded a number of heavy metal music albums late in his life, this proving that we've truly lost a one-of-a-kind human this week. Though he is dead, we still have his career to look back on.

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Here are just a few reactions to the passing of Lee from select celebrities on social media (via The Hollywood Reporter / The Telegraph):

So so sorry to hear that #christopherlee has passed away. He was a fascinating person. Threw a bic pen into a tree in front of me. #legend

— Dominic Monaghan (@DomsWildThings) June 11, 2015

A true legend has passed. Sir Christopher Lee. pic.twitter.com/MqVqxXtqda — Paddy Considine (@PaddyConsidine) June 11, 2015

I wish I'd met Sir Christopher Lee. I was so lucky & proud to have had him play the Earl in @BBCRadio4 Neverwhere. Great actor, great loss.

— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) June 11, 2015

PM: Saddened to hear of Sir Christopher Lee's death, a titan of Golden Age of Cinema & distinguished WW2 veteran who'll be greatly missed — UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) June 11, 2015

What a sad day for the world to lose this incredible actor and human being. Christopher Lee, photo by me in 2010 #christopherlee A photo posted by @bryanadams on Jun 11, 2015 at 5:52am PDT

The great, always criminally underrated Sir Christopher Lee has left us. A Titan of Cinema and a huge part of my youth. Farewell. — Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) June 11, 2015

Check out our previous coverage of one of Lee's metal albums right here!

Lee's career really took off when he starred in a number of Hammer Horror films that are still considered classics. The archive of films is now owned by Academics at De Montfort University in Leicester, run by director of the Cinema and Television History Research Centre, Professor Steve Chibnall. This week, the professor had to make one of the most difficult statements of his career.

"As custodians of Hammer's Script Archives we were sad to learn of the death of the last of the company's most iconic stars," the professor said. "Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were the most recognized faces of Hammer films and now we have lost both of these great actors. Lee was the most disturbingly believable embodiment of Count Dracula with a chilling screen presence that has never been rivaled. Vampires live beyond death and the collective memory of Lee's portrayal of Dracula will be immortal."

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(via UPROXX)