Sir Christopher Lee was a legendary actor known for his roles in Dracula films, The Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. He had a fascinating life story that inspired the James Bond novels. Don't believe it? You shouldn't doubt it, because his relative was the creator of Agent 007.
During World War II, Lee served in the British Special Forces, including the famous Special Air Service (SAS) and the Special Operations Executives (SOE), known as the 'Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare', which Guy Ritchie even made a separate film about.
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Lee was involved in intelligence, message decryption (the actor spoke eight languages), and secret missions, such as hunting down fugitive war criminals. Most of his operations remain classified to this day, but writer Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond novels, was Christopher Lee's cousin and was aware of some of the details.
The author of the novels never openly confirmed that Lee inspired the creation of the legendary spy, but he often hinted among his close circle that he drew inspiration from his relative and his military exploits. Lee's severity, erudition, and mysterious charm perfectly fit the image of a spy as Bond was envisioned.
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Christopher Lee himself indirectly confirmed that much of what was described in the Bond books was familiar to him from personal experience. For example, during the filming of The Lord of the Rings, he stopped the shooting and told the extras and Peter Jackson what sounds people make when they are stabbed with a knife.
Interestingly, in the James Bond films, Christopher Lee did not play the main character but one of the most memorable villains. In The Man with the Golden Gun, he portrayed Francisco Scaramanga — 007's adversary. His character was charismatic, elegant, and deadly, literally a mirror image of Bond.
Although Christopher Lee never officially played the role of a spy, it's easy to see that his story inspired the creators of Agent 007's character. By the way, Lee almost married an Austrian princess, was personally acquainted with Tolkien, knew the assassins of Rasputin, and climbed Vesuvius just three days before its eruption. But that's a completely different story.
