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."