A biography for Christopher Leehasn’t been written yet.
“Somebody once asked me how I found Peter Jackson, and I said: 'Well, I parted his hair, and there he was.'”
“When the Second World War finished, I was 23, and already I had seen enough horror to last me a lifetime. I'd seen dreadful, dreadful things, without saying a word. So seeing horror depicted on film doesn't affect me much.”
“The secret to a long marriage in the film industry? Marry someone wonderful, as I did. And always have her come along on location.”
“I don't really like long flights any more - I find them too tiring. Flying always involves the same things these days - huge crowds at airports, waiting around, late take-offs, weather problems, and so on. I don't really enjoy travelling. I don't imagine anyone does except young children.”
“I have made a lot of movies, but I don't see any point in talking about films I don't think are terribly good. I have been in a few. I don't know any actor that hasn't.”
“I turn to the 'Telegraph's' obituaries page with trepidation.”
“I associate heavy metal with fantasy because of the tremendous power that the music delivers.”
“The most important film I made, in terms of its subject and the great responsibility I had as an actor, was a film I did about the founder of Pakistan called 'Jinnah.'”
“There are certain things producers ask you to do, and when I was starting out, I said yes to everything. I was asked, for 'Quo Vadis,' to drive a chariot. I said, 'Oh yes. I'm licenced for all vehicles.' Two days later, I was sitting in this dustbin with two very aggressive horses. I didn't stay in it for long.”
“Before 'Lord of the Rings,' some people would have just classed Peter Jackson as a horror director. But there is a mind there.”
“I still think 'The Lord of the Rings' is the greatest literary achievement in my lifetime. Like so many other people, I couldn't wait for the second and then the third book. Nothing like it had ever been written.”
“I've worked with Tim Burton five times, and it's just like being part of a family; life doesn't get much better than that.”
“The thing I have always tried to do is surprise people: to present them with something they didn't expect.”
“To be a legend, you've either got to be dead or excessively old!”
“The saddest country I went to was Romania, years ago, during Ceausescu's rule.”
“My favourite country is Finland because once you get to a certain point, you can drive for hours without seeing a single person. I love peace and quiet - something I don't get very often.”
“When I was very young - around the age of nine - my family used to go to a house in Somerset that my stepfather rented every summer. There was fishing, lakes and riding.”
“I'm still asked a great deal about 'The Wicker Man' because it's become one of the great cult movies of all time. That's the story of my career, really, making cult movies. And I've always said it's the best film I've ever made.”
“I was always interested in enchantment and magicians and still am.”
“'The Impossible Dream' is, in my opinion, one of the greatest songs ever written. Here is a man, an old man, a very old man full of daring, bravery, courage, determination, romanticism and dreams.”