Sir Christopher Lee To Receive HAFTA Award

By: FSWL team

Published:
2011-02-13

Sir Christopher Lee to receive Academy Fellowship at the Orange British Academy Film Awards.

On Sunday 13 February the British Academy of Film and Television Arts will present Sir Christopher Lee with the Academy Fellowship at the Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony at London’s Royal Opera House.

Awarded annually by the Academy, the Fellowship is the highest accolade bestowed upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film. Previously honoured Fellows include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Julie Christie, John Barry, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Terry Gilliam and Judi Dench. Last year’s recipient was Vanessa Redgrave.

Tim Corrie, Chair of the Academy said: “I am absolutely delighted that the Academy is recognising Sir Christopher Lee. He has entertained me over many years and is a bastion of British filmmaking around the globe”.

Sir Christopher Lee adds: “It’s a very unexpected but very great honour to find myself in such distinguished company to receive the fellowship".

Knighted in 2009 for his services to drama and charity, Sir Christopher Lee has appeared in nearly 200 films. He first became a star in the mid-50's playing Frankenstein’s creature, then the title role of Dracula (1958-1976) in a pair of high-class Hammer Horrors. In a career spanning over eight decades, he has starred as Mycroft Holmes in Billy Wilder’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), as Lord Summerisle in cult classic The Wicker Man (1973), as Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), and as Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, in the film with the same title 1998.

Sir Christopher won a new worldwide audience when he starred as Saruman in the BAFTA and Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) and appeared as Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels (2002-2005). He has also worked extensively with Tim Burton, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and distinctive voice roles in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Corpse Bride (2005).

Future projects include the highly anticipated Martin Scorsese film Hugo Cabret (2011) which sees Sir Christopher appear alongside Jude Law, Chloe Moretz and Sacha Baron Cohen.

The ceremony will be hosted for the fifth year by Jonathan Ross and will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One. Red carpet coverage will be hosted by Edith Bowman on BBC Three.

About BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round Learning & Events programme that offers unique access to some of the world’s most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, lectures and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work.

Editor's note:
For other Bond related news presented on From Sweden with Love, click here.

Photo above:
Sir Christopher Lee starred as Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). Thirty six years later, in April 2010, he was re-united with Sir Roger Moore, Maud Adams and Lady Kristina Moore (Roger's wife) for a lunch at the Ivy Club in London.

For further information, visit the official BAFTA website:

www.bafta.org/press/sir-christopher-lee-to-receive-academy-fellowship,123,SNS.html

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