Lee dreamed of being Gandalf

Lord Of The Rings star Christopher Lee always dreamed of playing Gandalf as a young boy - but by the time JRR Tolkien's novels made it to the big screen he was too old.

The Dracula star, 84, conceded the role to a younger man, Ian McKellen, and instead took up the more mature mantle of rival wizard Saruman in Peter Jackson's movie trilogy.

Lee tells British movie magazine Hotdog: "Ever since I first read it I've dreamed about playing Gandalf, but when we came to make it I was too old, because Ian McKellen is 17 years younger than I am and because I was of a certain height, I couldn't go up into the mountains or anything like that.

"You accept these things."