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
Peter Jackson Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and film producer. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (2001–03) and the "Hobbit" trilogy (2012–14), both of which are adapted from the novels of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien. Other films include the critically lauded drama "Heavenly Creatures" (1994), the mockumentary film "Forgotten Silver" (1995), the horror comedy "The Frighteners" (1996), the epic monster remake film "King Kong" (2005), the supernatural drama film "The Lovely Bones" (2009), and the