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 begins roughly where Bakshi's film ends but does not include Saruman's character. BBC Radio's second adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings", from 1981, presents Saruman much as in the books. Smith and Matthews report Peter Howell's performance as Saruman as "brilliantly ambiguous ..., drifting from mellifluous to almost bestially savage from moment to moment without either mood seeming to contradict the other". Saruman is played by Matti Pellonpää in the 1993 television miniseries "Hobitit" that was produced and aired by Finnish broadcaster Yle. In Peter Jackson's film trilogy (2001–2003), Saruman is significantly more active in the first two films