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STAR PLAYER
Actor Christopher Lee Shares His Thoughts on MMOs
You might not recognize the name, but unless you've been living on Mars for the past five decades, the face is sure to be familiar.
Consider just a few of the timeless parts actor Christopher Lee has played, from Star Wars' Count Dooku to The Lord of the Rings' Saruman and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Dr. Wonka. Having appeared in over 200 big- and small-screen productions, not to mention plays, commercials and other artistic productions, he's a common sight in Hollywood circles. Observant role-players and action/strategy gamers may even recognize his voice from titles like The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age and The Battle for Middle-Earth. (Or, for that matter, his likeness from The Lords of the Rings Online Trading Card Game and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.)
Courtesy of broadband-enabled offerings EverQuest II (in which he plays Freeport's evil overload Lucan D'Lere) and Star Wars: Battlefront II (where Count Dooku's fully selectable), he's also becoming an increasing presence on the Internet. And one can only imagine what offerings like the newly revised Star Wars: Galaxies and the upcoming The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar will continue to do for his profile. That said, the time seems right for a little head-to-head with the thespian, who's been quietly invading computer monitors and television sets since a cameo in 2001's Conquest: Frontier Wars.
We touch base with the star of stage and screen to get his thoughts on the massively multiplayer online space.
LQGaming Services:: Why decide to branch out into the world of MMOs. Do you have any special connection to them or play them yourself?
Christopher Lee: I've been acting for decades. There's not much that's a completely new experience for me in the business. But [MMOs] definitely qualify. I've done opera, cinema, TV, commercials, voice-overs. But really, I've never done anything quite like this. You have to try new things every so on. It's what keeps life interesting.
LQGaming Services:: Count Dooku, Saruman the White, Lucan D'Lere. where exactly do you channel all the negative energy from to portray all these evil characters on-screen or in massively multiplayer titles?
Christopher Lee: Rumor has it I'm an actor. Or so people tell me. No matter the format, whether we're talking about a game or a movie or a television show, the question isn't whether I'm a nice man or nasty man or woman or whatever. A real actor can play anyone, a good guy or a bad guy. They could be funny, sad. just about anything. It's just part of the job, and something that comes from within.
"If you don't surprise your audience, and they know what's coming next, the game is lost ."
LQGaming Services:: MMOs like Star Wars: Galaxies and The Lord of the Rings Online. Why do you think these titles are so darn popular?
Christopher Lee: They have this strange attraction. I think the appeal is that people can completely involve themselves in a fantasy or science-fiction setting. And I don't mean figuratively either. They can literally, in terms of how they play the game, become a character in an epic adventure. They can do what they like, however they please. It's a novel way to enjoy oneself.
LQGaming Services:: How do you view your EverQuest 2 alter-ego? What's his motivation, his outlook on life. and how does it come across in your performance?
Christopher Lee: To put it simply, he is an overlord. He is a tyrant. He is a dictator. He is immortal. Nobody really knows where he comes from. nobody knows who his parents were. He's just there and he has enormous powers. His weakness is that he lusts for world domination. It's very important to the story, of course, but I call it a weakness because he has no feelings at all. He doesn't say, "I'm going to take this because I like these people or I like that place, but don't kill the prisoners." He just wants something and takes it. there's no emotion involved. He's ruthless, contemptuous of everything and everyone. All he cares about is himself, his powers, his battles and his victory. He's not a very nice guy.
LQGaming Services:: Are there any aspects or basic principles of acting or directing that you see MMO makers using in games to good effect?
Christopher Lee: Of course! No matter if you're acting or making a game, your job is to convince people something is true, even if it's not real, if only for a limited time. It doesn't matter if it's an actor's performance or a game creator's need to use characters or special effects to get a message across. There's a certain power, a level of confidence that must be conveyed, so that visually or vocally the audience believes what it's seeing. Presence is important.. Even in [a virtual sense].
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