12. Sir Christopher Lee used his awesome language skills to fight Nazis before he went on to become a Hollywood superstar
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was far more than just a Hollywood superstar. The actor, who enjoyed a career spanning six decades, was an accomplished singer, an author and had enjoyed a distinguished career in the British Army. He was also a polyglot. Indeed, Lee spoke five languages fluently, plus he had an excellent understanding of three more. Such an ability undoubtedly came in useful during his time first as a special forces secret agent and then as a globe-trotting actor.
Born in London in 1922, Lee’s mother was an Italian countess. Naturally, then, he grew up bilingual. When young Christopher was still a young boy, his parents separated and he went with his mother to Switzerland. Here, he started his private schooling and picked up the French and German languages – as well as the acting bug after a starring role in a school production of Rumpelstiltskin. After a few years, he returned to England and studied the Classics, becoming adept in Greek and Latin.
During the Second World War, Lee served in South Africa, in Egypt and then in Italy. In later life, he revealed that he was part of the fledgling SAS, taking part in ultra-secret commando raids behind enemy lines. Once the war was over, his fluent French and German meant he was selected to help track down and then interrogate Nazi war criminals. Then, not wanting to stay in the armed forces or work in an office, Lee decided to go into acting. He spent ten years as a jobbing actor before finding fame in the Hammer Horror genre. After a decade of playing fantasy villains and monsters, he moved on to James Bond and from there to Hollywood, most notably in the Lord of the Rings movies.
In all, Lee spoke fluent French, German, Italian and Spanish, alongside his native English. He was also proficient in Swedish, Russian and Greek. Notably, when he was at his height in Hollywood, he was just one of several notable polyglots in LA. Dolph Lundgren also speaks six languages fluently, while Viggo Mortensen is fluent in Danish, English, Swedish, Norwegian and Spanish.