Christopher Lee

I am never going to stop playing the villain. I would be foolish to do so because the audiences apparently enjoy watching me, and who am I to say no? ”

We don't live in a particularly attractive world. I don't really remember, except as a small boy, anything but a pretty grim world. ”

There is something sad about malevolence, to be wicked. I have always tried to make that come across in the villains I have played. ”

My great-grandmother was born in London, the daughter of a Brixton coachman, and became the most famous singer in Australia. Her name was Marie Carandini, Madame Carandini. ”

I didn't want to be known as a man who only made horror films. I made some - very few. ”

The Wicker Man' for me, as an actor, was definitely the best film I've ever done. ”

The thing I have always tried to do is surprise people: to present them with something they didn't expect. ”

The secret to a long marriage in the film industry? Marry someone wonderful, as I did. And always have her come along on location. ”

If I had any deadly secrets, I wouldn't still be alive. ”

Making films has never just been a job to me; it is my life. I have some interests outside of acting - I sing and I've written books, for instance - but acting is what keeps me going: it's what I do; it gives life purpose. ”