List of things I knew about Sir Christopher Lee already:

• He’s obviously a damn good actor, you only have to look at the range of things he’s done from Dracula back in 1958, the supremely disturbing Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man, through to current work like the Lord Of The Rings.
• He’s been knighted for his services to drama.
• He’s got a good voice, there’s the singing parts in The Wicker Man, singing Richard O’Brien (wrote Rocky Horror) penned stuff in Captain Invincible, and the voice of Death in The Colour Of Magic.
• He’s the cousin of Ian Fleming, who created James Bond, and may well have been part of the inspiration for James Bond. Lee was in the Special Operations Executive, the predecessor of MI6, but exactly what he did in Africa and Italy is still not entirely clear. Two quotes from him on the subject show how secretive he is:

“When people say to me, you know, were you in this? Were you in that? Did you work in this? Did you work in that? I always used to say `Can you keep a secret?` And they would say `Yes, yes` and I would say “So can I.” – from here.

“I was attached to the SAS from time to time but we are forbidden – former, present, or future – to discuss any specific operations.” Later he raises the subject again and says: “Let’s just say I was in Special Forces and leave it at that. People can read in to that what they like.” – from here.

Something I didn’t know about Sir Christopher Lee, until Luke posted a link on Facebook:

• He’s written and recorded a full length operatic metal concept album, based on the life of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne.

Honestly. Here’s the cover of the album, Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross.

There’s a music video as well:

All hail Sir Christopher Lee, Knight, Wizard, Dracula, Death, James Bond, and Metal God.