Tim Burton Pays Tribute to Christopher Lee: ‘I Just Loved Being Around Him’

Hollywood continues to mourn legendary actor Christopher Lee, the Lord of the Rings star who died on June 7 at age 93.

The latest tribute comes from filmmaker Tim Burton, who reminisced with Entertainment Weekly about Lee’s prolific six-decade career, saying “The parts he played in my movies weren’t huge, but I just loved being around him.”

Burton opened up about watching Lee’s early films as he grew up, what it was like to work with him—on movies including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland—and the majesty of his voice.

“I remember I said to him once, ‘Would you do my phone message for me?'” Burton recalled. “(I really did ask, but I didn’t make him do it.)”

Read more at Entertainment Weekly.