‘Gremlins 2’ Director Joe Dante Remembers Christopher Lee
Often overlooked in the illustrious career of Christopher Lee and his many powerhouse villains is the 1990 sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, directed by Joe Dante. Lee, who passed away Sunday at the age of 93, played the diabolical scientist Dr. Catheter at the New York research clinic where Gizmo is being examined before all hell breaks loose.
Dante, who also directed the original Gremlins as well as other '80s favorites like The Burbs and Innerspace (his new film, Burying the Ex, opens in theaters and on VOD June 19), stopped by Yahoo Studios today where he talked about casting the late British knight and their close friendship that followed. (Despite the fact that Lee’s most iconic performance came as Dracula, Dante said that the actor’s casting had nothing to do with both vampires and gremlins being vulnerable to sunlight.)
Related: 21 of Christopher Lee’s Most Memorable Roles
“I got to know Christopher very well after Gremlins, and we actually had a lot of projects that we had mounted and tried to get made,” Dante said. “One of them that I think really would have been good was a Sweeney Todd with him and Vanessa Redgrave.”
Dante noted that Lee recognized he was known mostly for his horror movie chops, but always wanted more: “He had a great career, he was 93 years old, and by the end of his career he was singing heavy metal. I mean, you gotta give it to the guy. But I think he probably had a career that didn’t go as mainstream as he would’ve liked.”
See what else Dante said about Lee in the video above.
