Why Christopher Lee Wasn’t Paid For 1973's The Wicker Man
Christopher Lee was one of the most acclaimed actors of all time, yet he was never paid for one of his greatest performances: as Lord Summerisle in the original 1973 version of The Wicker Man. Lee is best remembered for playing a number of iconic roles throughout his career, including Count Dracula in Hammer Horror films, Saruman in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, the James Bond villain Francisco Scaramanga, and Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels. But one of Lee's most influential performances was in The Wicker Man, so how could the production not have paid him for his work?
The Wicker Man is a British folk horror film that follows the devoutly catholic Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) as he investigates the case of a missing girl on the secluded Scottish island of Summerisle. Upon his arrival, Howie is horrified to discover that all of the villagers on Summerisle practice paganism, under the leadership of Lord Summersisle (Lee), who tells the sergeant that his people need their old religion so that their crops can prosper. Howie eventually finds the girl but discovers her disappearance was merely a rouse so the townsfolk could sacrifice him to the ancient gods for a bountiful harvest.
Related: The Wicker Man: Biggest Differences Between The Original & Remake
By 1973, Christopher Lee had appeared in numerous Hammer Horror films, Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein included, and was looking for more interesting roles that would prevent him from being typecast as monsters. He first became involved with The Wicker Man when he met with the film’s screenwriter, Anthony Schaffer, who had set out to write an intelligent horror film that relied on atmosphere over gore. Schaffer wrote
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