Over the course of his career, Christopher Lee played countless characters that earned him the praise of film audiences around the world. Despite his extensive filmography, there is one genre that sticks out in Lee’s career above all the others: horror.

For his work in horror films like The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and The Mummy (1959), Lee was branded a horror actor. The label was so enduring, Lee had to seek work in America in order to lose the label. Years later, the actor confessed that despite his resilience, he still wasn’t terribly fond of the label.

“The media loves putting a label on you,” Lee said during an interview with the South Jersey Times. “It’s nonsensical. Bogart: The man in the raincoat. Sean Connery: 007. And so I’m ‘the horror icon.’ Well, I haven’t done a horror film since 1975.”

But while he didn’t consider his title very impressive, Lee expressed pride in the horror films he had appeared in. “People said, ‘Oh, they’re disgusting! Oh, this is not the sort of thing the British cinema should be known for!’” said Lee. “Now, of course, they’ve become classics.”

Critics never bothered Lee; he chose acting as a career to find his own fulfillment, not to submit to the wants of others.

“I didn’t become an actor to pick up awards, like some of my colleagues,” said the actor. “I became an actor because I wanted to create different people. I still do. I will never retire. Why should I do that?”