Peter Jackson Reveals Christopher Lee Insisted On Playing Gandalf In 'Lord Of The Rings'

It may be difficult to imagine anyone other than Christopher Lee playing the evil Saruman in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy (as well as The Hobbit movies), but Peter Jackson has just confirmed that the late actor was initially interested in playing Gandalf!

The director shared with EW how Lee enthusiastically arrived for auditions with Jackson and his wife, producer Fran Walsh and that they had immediately offered him the role of Saruman. However, it turned out that Lee had been planning to audition for the part of the Grey Pilgrim.

"A very awkward 30 minutes followed, with Fran and I trying our best to explain to a rather peeved Christopher Lee that we were already talking to Ian McKellen about Gandalf - but what an incredible Saruman he would be!" Jackson said, adding that the veteran actor decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Chris wasn't hearing a bar of it, and eventually commanded us to turn on the video camera so he could audition for Gandalf. After shooting a few takes, he thanked us very graciously before disappearing back into the shadows," he said.

It didn't end after McKellen was cast as Gandalf and the crew began shooting the first film. Lee made sure his costar was aware that he was interested in the role more than anyone, but that didn't mean he didn't admire McKellen's work, despite his obvious enthusiasm in their fight scene featured in the above video.

"At one point during the shoot, Chris said, 'I'm perfectly happy to be in an Ian McKellen film,'" Jackson revealed. "Ian immediately turned to Chris, and with great affection he replied, 'But not as thrilled as I am - to be in a Christopher Lee movie!'"

Lee passed away due to respiratory problems and heart failure on June 7, 2015. He was 93 years old.