Because these movies were very well liked, he chose to move to Hollywood in the mid-1970s. He was a busy actor but most of the work he did for movies and television was not very notable. Because of this, he decided moved back to England. Lee's career became very notable again in the early 2000s. His acting in "The Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy (2001–2003) (as Saruman the White) and "" (2002) (as Count Dooku) caused this. Lee is the only member of the cast of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy who met author J.R.R. Tolkien.