When John Cleese took a 'serious' role in Kenneth Branagh's Frankenstein, the actor decided to have a special contraption attached to his jaw so that he would be less recognizable to fans. The worry was that Cleese's fans were apt to burst into laughter at the mere sight of the comic, which would rather muck up the tone of Branagh's gothic confection.
One wonders whether the production team on the new Pope film (a CBS venture) considered something similar for Christopher Lee for his role in the biopic. Not because he's a redoubtable funnyman of course. Rather not. Indeed, Mr Lee is eternally, or should we say infernally (bad joke we admit) associated with more macabre roles - aristocratic Transylvanian vampires (Dracula), world-annihilating wizards (The Lord Of The Rings), crime barons with three nipples (The Man With The Golden Gun). And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Out of the staggering 225 film roles that the gallant Mr Lee has played, virtually every single one has been demonic. He is the uncontested Dark Lord of the silver screen.
So it comes as some surprise that Mr Lee will be playing one of the great moral authorities of Poland's 20th century, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, mentor of Pope John Paul, and former Primate of Poland. It's an interesting choice. One thing's for sure though, Mr. Lee is sure to look eminently stylish in a cassock.
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