Sir Christopher Lee, one of Britain’s all-time greatest actors, has passed away at the grand old age of 93.

The veteran Hammer Horror star, famed for portraying notorious characters in the James Bond, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings franchises, died from heart failure early on Sunday morning at London’s Chelsea and Westminister Hospital.

Born in 1922, Lee worked as an office clerk in London before enlisting to serve for his country in the Second World War. Upon being released from military service, he signed up to an acting organisation which would ultimately lead to a small role in Laurence Olivier’s Oscar-winning drama Hamlet (1948).

From then on, he started to become more involved in various projects including Moulin Rouge (1952) but could only manage bit parts in films and television shows. But his role as the Creature in the Hammer Horror flick The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) would lift his career to new heights as he would go on land several appearances in the spooky series as well as a friendship with fellow Hammer Horror actor Peter Cushing.

The pair co-starred together in The Mummy (1959) but it was their work on the Dracula films that would become iconic for Hammer Horror Productions. Lee first portrayed the sinister monster in Horror of Dracula (1958) and would go on to play the role in a number of sequels in the 1960s and 1970s.

He then tried to move away from the character by tackling other dark roles including the sinister killer Fu Manchu in the Fu Manchu series (1965-1969) as well as cult leader Lord Summerisle in the British classic The Wicker Man (1973).

The following year, he then appeared in a more iconic film series as the villainous Scaramanga in the James Bond blockbuster The Man With the Golden Gun (1974). The part had a strong connection for Lee as his cousin was the Bond author Ian Fleming.

Upon ending his time with the Hammer Horror series, he then formed his own production company Charlemagne Productions but decided to move away from the genre completely during the late 70s. Having moved to Hollywood, he took parts in other mainstream films including The Three Musketeers (1973), Airport ’77 (1977) and Return from Witch Mountain (1978) but found it difficult in getting more eye-catching roles.

From the 1980s to the late 1990s, his only recognisable work came in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1989) and a host of various film and television projects but his luck would change towards the new Millennium.

Heading into his late 70s, he would begin the first of several collaborations with the acclaimed director Tim Burton by returning to the horror franchise as a judge in the blockbuster hit Sleepy Hollow (1999). He would go on to work with Burton on other films including Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Dark Shadows (2012).

But it was two huge film franchises that would make him more recognisable to a new generation of audiences as he firstly took on the role of the despicable wizard Saruman in the acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy. He would eventually reprise the role twice in two of the films from The Hobbit trilogy which would lead to him making his final ever screen appearance in last year’s Battle of the Five Armies (2014).

He also appeared as Sith lord Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel trilogy for which he featured in Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005).

His distinguished film career would also end with small roles in The Golden Compass (2007), Season of the Witch (2011) and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011).

Lee was knighted by the Queen in 2009 and also received a BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 for his outstanding contributions to cinema over the past 70 years. Incredibly, he was never nominated for an Oscar or BAFTA and was only recognised notably when being part of ensemble cast nominations like Lord of the Rings.

The great man is survived by his wife of over fifty years Gitte and their daughter Christina.