The sad news has now surely reached all that the irreplaceable Sir Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93 on Sunday, June 7th.

Most millennials would easily recall Lee as Count Dooku from the apocryphal prequel episodes of Star Wars or the crooked white wizard, Saruman, in Peter Jackson’s first Lord of the Rings trilogy. Those slightly older probably know him best as Dracula from the Hammer Horror series, or Bond villain Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (coincidentally, he was step-cousin to Ian Fleming through his mother’s second marriage). With over 280 acting credits to his name, Lee was one of the most prolific actors of all time. He was close friends with Hammer Horror co-star Peter Cushing, with whom he shared a May 27th birthday

But everyone, young and old, knows him as an ultimate evil persona. Because that’s what he did best over the course of his 70-year acting career.

With his piercing eyes, eyebrows we’d swear were alive, and snarling, spider-esque fingers, the towering 6’5″ Lee was in step with the likes of Vincent Price, Lon Chaney, and Bela Lugosi in his ability to crawl into creepy characters of cunning and dastardly intentions. We relished in his rich and bellowing operatic vocal tones, for which he was classically trained and even graced the track of many a heavy metal album including Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010 as well as Charlemagne: The Omens of Death in 2013. Knighted in 2009 for his service to drama and charity, he received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and the BFI Fellowship in 2013 as well. Most stunning to some might be that, in his passing, he leaves behind his wife of 53 years, Gitte Lee.

There will never be another Sir Christopher Lee, but his legacy of villainy reaching over three generations while he was living will reach countless more. If only we do our due diligence. He cannot be forgotten.

Sir Christopher Lee as “Francisco Scaramanga” in The Man with the Golden Gun.

Celebrities have taken to Twitter today to share their thoughts and remembrances of this great actor:

An extraordinary man and life lead, Sir Christopher Lee. You were an icon, and a towering human being with stories for days. We'll miss you.

— Elijah Wood (@woodelijah) June 11, 2015

I wish I'd met Sir Christopher Lee. I was so lucky & proud to have had him play the Earl in @BBCRadio4 Neverwhere. Great actor, great loss.

— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) June 11, 2015

So so sorry to hear that #christopherlee has passed away. He was a fascinating person. Threw a bic pen into a tree in front of me. #legend

— Dominic Monaghan (@DomsWildThings) June 11, 2015

Remember the old question, “If an alien landed on Earth, how would you explain America to him?” The answer is: Sean Astin. He is the embodiment of so much of what has shaped our cinematic history. From cult classics to box office blockbusters, child actor to leading man, the movies he has been such a memorable part of are staples for any avid movie buff’s collection and his public life has been something to be proud of as well.

Here are 15 reasons we love Sean Astin in honor of his 44th year.

That was his feature DEBUT. What were you doing at that age?

In 1991, he played rebellious bad boy Billy Tepper in Toy Soldiers alongside Will Wheaton as Joey Trotta, two teens who take on a criminal trying to hold their school hostage.

In 1992, he was Dave in Encino Man, who with his friend Stoney Brown (Pauly Shore) befriended newly unfrozen caveman Link, Brendan Fraser.

You know, from the Patty Duke Show? How could this not make someone instantly awesome? Not to say it’s all rainbows and butterflies. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982 and together they have been active in promoting public awareness for mental health issues.

He calls 3 other men ‘father’ as well: his biological father, Michael Tell, the man thought to be his biological father for the early years of his life, Desi Arnaz, Jr. and his mother’s current husband of 29 years, Michael Pearce. However, John Astin is the one he most associates with that title.

In 1992, Astin married Christine Harrell. They will celebrate their 23rd anniversary on July 11th this year and have 3 daughters. His eldest, Alexandra, also played his onscreen daughter, Elanor, in one of his last scenes in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

With Astin capturing the soul of this true story about a kid with not much going for him but incredible heart whose dream in life was to play football for Notre Dame, this was also the first movie Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn would share a scene in. That’s history, folks.

He would reprise his role twice more in 2002 and 2003 with The Two Towers and Return of the King.

He’s inked with the number ‘9’ in Tengwar script, the language of the Elves of Middle Earth. John Rhys-Davies is the only one of the nine without out it, though his body double got inked with it!

Co-written with Joe Layden, it focuses on his cinematic career with emphasis on his experience in Lord of the Rings.

He’s had major roles in both 50 First Dates (2004) and Click (2006).

Astin had to gain 35 to 40 pounds to play the role of the very round but dependable hobbit. This was an issue, however, because Sean Astin has been an avid long distance runner since he was a teen and has since completed 9 marathons and even more half-marathons, 10k and 5k runs. He basically had to cool it on the running so he wouldn’t lose the weight. He is also a spokesperson for RunDisney and in 2012 he created the Twitter movement and running group #Run3rd.

He’s served on two presidential campaigns, two non-partisan Presidential committees, and was a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army from 1995 to 2005. He is the host of Vox Populi Radio a non-partisan platform to discuss politics and current issues.

Slated to be released this year, it brings attention to one of the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history.

And that’s the long and short of it!