The actor, who made his name as Dracula, famously played Bond villain
Scaramanga and starred in both The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.
Bond co-star, Sir Roger Moore, tweeted his sadness at losing "an old friend".
George Lucas hailed "a great British actor of the old school. A true link to cinema's past and a real gentleman".
In a lengthy post on his Facebook page,
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson called him a "scholar, a
singer, an extraordinary raconteur and of course, a marvellous actor".
He
continued: "I was lucky enough to work with Chris on five films all
told and it never ceased to be a thrill to see him on set. I remember
him saying on my 40th Birthday (he was 80 at the time), "You're half the
man I am".
"Being half the man Christopher Lee is, is more than
I could ever hope for. He was a true gentleman, in an era that no
longer values gentleman."
US director Martin Scorsese said he was "really going to miss him".
"I
think of him every day, and I always will," said Scorsese. "We both
wished that we'd been able to work together more, but it was a joy to
make Hugo together. He was a great actor, a wonderful friend, a real
professional."
He was best-known for his villainous roles -
including Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, and the evil wizard
Saruman in The Lord of the Rings - as well as his sinister, and iconic,
role in cult classic The Wicker Man.
The actor is reported to
have died on Sunday at Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London, after
being hospitalised for respiratory problems and heart failure.
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