# Would "Christopher Lee" had been a better Gandalf, while "Ian Mckellen" could have been Saruman



## Mr.Underhill (Jul 22, 2021)

Mainly because the way i got the impression from reading the Lord of the Rings. Is Gandalf is pretty strict, and Christopher Lee does have that vibe to him. While Saruman is mainly arrogant (Dont know how else to describe him of how i get the imagination from the books)


----------



## Squint-eyed Southerner (Jul 22, 2021)

As accomplished actors, they both could have handled either role, I'm sure.

I suspect a bit of typecasting, in Mr. Lee's case. 😁


----------



## Mr.Underhill (Jul 22, 2021)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> As accomplished actors, they both could have handled either role, I'm sure.
> 
> I suspect a bit of typecasting, in Mr. Lee's case. 😁


He did get the blessing from the author himself to play Gandalf. Would have been very interesting


----------



## Olorgando (Jul 22, 2021)

Sir Ian McKellen did play the role of Magneto in the original X-Men trilogy (released 2000-2006).
And while Sir Christopher Lee may be remembered as the most iconic Dracula after Bela Lugosi, he played in a total of over 200 films, portraying a wide spectrum of characters. I've read somewhere that he had hoped to play Gandalf in a film adaptation, but by the time filming by PJ started in late 1999, Lee was 77 years old, while McKellen was 60.


----------



## Ealdwyn (Jul 22, 2021)

I agree. Both accomplished actors, they could have played either.
But Lee, more than McKellen, had that VOICE, which made him the perfect choice for Saruman. He's also more physically imposing. I think he was perfectly cast. 

Both of them were perfectly cast. In fact, for all the many, many things PJ got wrong, he got the casting of Lee and McKellen right.


----------



## grendel (Jul 22, 2021)

Ian McKellen could have played Saruman, or Aragorn, or Gimli, or even Peregrin friggin' Took, and pulled it off. He's that good.

When I read the books now, I "hear" every line from Gandalf in Ian McKellen's voice. The only character from the book to be affected that way. It's a tribute to his performance.


----------



## Ealdwyn (Jul 23, 2021)

grendel said:


> When I read the books now, I "hear" every line from Gandalf in Ian McKellen's voice. The only character from the book to be affected that way.


Me too!
Although I also "hear" Gollum, but - depending on what part of the book I'm reading - it alternates between the Gollum from the Bakshi animated movie, or from the Rob Inglis narrated audiobook, or the Andy Serkis movie Gollum. 😂


----------



## Squint-eyed Southerner (Jul 23, 2021)

In that regard, I tend to hear voices from the BBC Radio version of 1981 -- especially Michael Hodern's Gandalf -- as I've listened to that many times, over the years -- much more than I was ever able to get through the movies.


----------



## Ealdwyn (Jul 23, 2021)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> especially Michael Hodern's Gandalf


Yes! There are moments when his delivery of the lines reminds me a lot of JRRT himself!

Possibly we need a new thread to celebrate favourite Tolkien voice actors?
In the Bakshi movie:
Aragorn - John Hurt
Gollum - Peter Woodthorpe (I don't know any of his other work but it seems he was in a lot of TV stuff)
Legolas - who I've just discovered was Anthony Daniels (yes, C3PO!)

In the 1981 radio play:
Michael Hordern - Gandalf
Robert Stephens - Aragorn
Ian Holm - Frodo
Bill Nighy - Sam 
Gollum was again played by Peter Woodthorpe

Rob Inglis, of course, does all the characters in the unabridged audio book.
I haven't listened to the whole audiobook for a long time (mainly because the whole thing is something like 50 hours long), but I seem to remember he does an excellent job.


----------



## Rivendell_librarian (Jul 27, 2021)

Michael Hordern - a very underrated actor imo. He was really good in the BBC adaptation of _Whistle and I'll Come to You_ in the regular BBC Ghost Story for Christmas slot back in the 60s and 70s - never has a waving blanket been so frightening ("finders, keepers").


----------



## ZehnWaters (Aug 28, 2021)

Mr.Underhill said:


> Mainly because the way i got the impression from reading the Lord of the Rings. Is Gandalf is pretty strict, and Christopher Lee does have that vibe to him. While Saruman is mainly arrogant (Dont know how else to describe him of how i get the imagination from the books)


No. Saruman's voice was supposed to be smooth and Christopher Lee has the most beautiful male voice I know.


----------



## Shadow (Aug 29, 2021)

I‘m sure they could‘ve made it work as they’re both great actors. But the filmmakers cast them in the right roles. I can’t imagine anyone else as these characters, to be honest, and hear their voices now when I read the books.


----------

