Film News: Bafta Awards Christopher Lee Fellowship Award

With the British Academy Film and Television Arts Awards only a week away, there is a lot of interest as to which film will be crowned with the ‘Best Picture’ award. But it also should be noted that awards also praise those actors and actresses who have devoted their lives to the visual arts.

The BAFTA Fellowship was first presented to Alfred Hitchcock in 1971 in recognition of his outstanding achievement in the cinematic industry. It also holds the title as the highest award the Academy can present to those nominated. At its inception, it was originally awarded to film directors who have contributed and had an enormous influence into shaping what the medium of cinema has turned into, but in recent years, it has also been awarded to television and film actors, those working behind the camera as well as significant contributors to the video gaming industry

In recent years, recipients have included Steven Spielberg, Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, and of course not forgetting last year’s winner, Vanessa Redgrave. This year, the Academy has decided to award the fellowship to an actor that defined horror movies in the 1970’s as well as one that has had a continual presence whatever project he has worked on, Christopher Lee.

Christopher Lee over the years has become a legend in his own right. His earlier career started off after being cast in various films as a stock action character, but his first claim to fame was thanks to the cult movie studio, Hammer Horror, casting him in The Curse of Frankenstein. A year later, he was cast as the main character in the now classic interpretation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This started his decade long association with the movie studio and the horror genre. Film reviewers believe his finest performance to date was in The Wicker Man, where he played the titular character of Lord Summerilse.

His career later progressed through to being able to play a James Bond villain in The Man with the Golden Gun. A little known fact to many was that he was actually related to Ian Fleming, and was considered by the author as his preferred choice of actor to portray Dr No in the first incarnation of the Hollywood adaptation of the series. Ultimately, Lee lost the role to fellow british actor, Joseph Wiseman.

Recently, Lee saw a career resurgence after appearances in the big screen adaptation of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and appearing as Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel movies. In late 2010, Film news had been alight with rumours of his reprisal of Saruman in the forthcoming adaptation of The Hobbit, which was finally confirmed last month.

This year’s BAFTA Awards ceremony looks set to be the biggest yet, with The Kings Speech and The Social Network going head to head to win the most awards this year. The BAFTA Awards will be held on the 13th February, and will be hosted by Jonathan Ross at the Royal Opera House in London.

By: Andrew Joyce

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Andrew Joyce lives eats and breathes film