Funny, in his younger days, he would do "fantasy" flicks, but they were all "b-grade", poorly written, poorly produced stuff.
Now, when he's really PERFECT to play the kinds of roles he's really played all along, fantasy/SF stuff is ALL the rage, getting the biggest budgets, the highest billing, etc.
Man, his agent is GOOD...
I don't really remember seeing him before, though I read he's made 2 or 3 hundred movies in his life. I really enjoy his acting in FOTR, though and am amazed at the beautiful voice. Seeing him this week in AToC was like seeing an old friend.
Yeah, the old Hammer days.
I don't know if you know this or not, but Lee is a huge Tolkien fan. He once said in an interview that he always knew he was destined for a role in a movie version of LOTR if it were ever made. He has read the book once a year, every year, since it was published.