Christopher Lee Dreamt of Being Gandalf  6/9/06

Lord of the Rings star Christopher Lee always dreamed of playing Gandalf as a young boy - but by the time JRR Tolkien's novels made it to the big screen he was too old.

The Dracula star, 84, conceded the role to a younger man, Sir Ian McKellen, and instead took up the more mature mantle of rival wizard Saruman in Peter Jackson's movie trilogy.

Lee tells British movie magazine Hotdog, "Ever since I first read it I've dreamt about playing Gandalf, but when we came to make it I was too old, because Ian McKellen is 17 years younger than I am and because I was of a certain height, I couldn't go up in the mountains or anything like that.

"You accept these things."