“I can’t climb these goddamn stairs gracefully!”

In fantasy films, costumes are particularly important, but also particularly elaborate. Wizards in The Lord of the Rings have traditionally wide robes that make them appear elegant and powerfulSaruman actor Christopher Lee would probably have preferred to wear shorts.

Christopher Lee almost gave up on Lord of the Rings because of his costume

The wide, white robes of the villain Saruman make Christopher Lee look like a wise wizard. But the costume also has its pitfalls, as excerpts from the filming show. Especially when climbing stairs, he often stepped on the hem of his robesAt some point he was so annoyed that he even complained to director Peter Jackson:

I’m sorry, I can’t climb these goddamn stairs gracefully! I can’t do it, Peter, I’m sorry.

You can watch the whole video with snippets of the filming and an interview with Christopher Lee here:

As if the actor didn’t have enough problems already, a voice behind the camera then spoke up:

Well, you did it this morning.

Christopher Lee then had to admit that it was possible after all. That was not the last time that Lee and Peter Jackson clashed. The Saruman actor did not appear at all at the premiere of the third part. In the last part, Saruman had one last scene, which was cut out for the theatrical version.

The scene in question can only be seen in the extended edition of the film. Lee and Jackson got along well enough afterwards that the actor reprised his role for the Hobbit trilogy.