Claim: Count Dooku was portrayed by Christopher Lee.

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee -LRB- 27 May 1922 -- 7 June 2015 -RRB- was an English character actor , singer , and author . With a career spanning nearly 70 years , Lee initially portrayed villains and became best known for his role as Count Dracula in a sequence of Hammer Horror films . His other film roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun -LRB- 1974 -RRB- , Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy -LRB- 2001 -- 2003 -RRB- and The Hobbit film trilogy -LRB- 2012 -- 2014 -RRB- , and Count Dooku in the second and third films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy -LRB- 2002 and 2005 -RRB- .   Lee was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009 , received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 , and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013 . Lee considered his best performance to be that of Pakistan 's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah -LRB- 1998 -RRB- , and his best film to be the British horror film The Wicker Man -LRB- 1973 -RRB- . He frequently appeared opposite Peter Cushing in Hammer Horror films , and late in his career had roles in six Tim Burton films .   Always noted as an actor for his deep , strong voice , Lee was also known for his singing ability , recording various opera and musical pieces between 1986 and 1998 , and the symphonic metal album Charlemagne : By the Sword and the Cross in 2010 , after having worked with several metal bands since 2005 . The heavy metal follow-up Charlemagne : The Omens of Death was released on 27 May 2013 , Lee 's 91st birthday . He was honoured with the `` Spirit of Metal '' award at the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards ceremony . Lee died from complications of respiratory problems and heart failure on the morning of 7 June 2015 , at the age of 93 .