For many of Hollywood’s biggest stars, their most dramatic roles were top secret and played out far from any camera. When the world went to war, some of them put on a uniform, took on aliases, and went behind enemy lines. Their stories may even be more incredible than any movie script. Here are the golden age movie legends who lived a real-life history of service.
#1: Christopher Lee
Before he terrified us as Dracula (1958), Christopher Lee was a real-life Nazi hunter. He served in the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), a secret unit Churchill called the “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” Dedicated to this elite force and the precursor to the SAS, Lee carried out sabotage and gathered intelligence behind enemy lines. Before turning into one of the most famous villains, Lee operated across North Africa and Southern Europe.
