Saruman than in their equivalent books, and he appears in several scenes that are not depicted in Tolkien's work. In the films, Saruman is depicted presenting himself outright as a servant of Sauron. Smith and Matthews suggest that Saruman's role is built up as a substitute for Sauron—the story's main antagonist—who never appears directly in the book. Jackson confirms this view in the commentary to the DVD. They also suggest that having secured veteran British horror actor Christopher Lee to play Saruman, it made sense to make greater use of his star status. Despite this increased role in the first two
Saruman in the book of "wraithing", a distinctive 20th-century view of evil that he attributes to Tolkien in which individuals are "'eaten up inside' by devotion to some abstraction". Referring to Saruman's demise, Kocher says that he is one example of the consistent theme of nothingness as the fate of evil throughout "The Lord of the Rings". Saruman has appeared in film, audio and stage adaptations of "The Lord of the Rings". BBC Radio produced the first adaptation in 1956, in which Saruman was played by Robert Farquharson, and which has not survived. Tolkien was apparently disappointed by it. In Ralph