Pasha Lee: who is Ukrainian actor killed by Russian air strikes - what character did he play in The Hobbit?

Pasha Lee, 33, a Ukranian actor who lent his voice to dubbing major Hollywood films was killed by Russian forces on 7 March.

The actor was best known outside of Ukraine for playing roles in The Hobbit and The Lion King - but which characters did he play?This is what you need to know about Lee - and how he died.

Lee was born in Crimea, a Ukrainian territory which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Lee quit his job and joined the Ukraine Territorial Defence Force just one week before he was tragically killed by Russian shelling.

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February but have been met by heavy resistance on each day since.

Lee died defending Irpin, a city northwest of the capital Kyiv which has suffered heavy bombing in recent days and from where civillians are fleeing in droves.

On 2 March, Lee shared an image of himself in a military uniform, with a caption in Ukrainian which translates to “Let’s unite”.

Lee played the role of a police officer in the Ukrainian language 2016 action comedy Selfie Party, where a group of students wake up in a police station with no idea as to how they got there.

He then took on the role of Dyzel in the 2017 sports action film The Fight Rules.

Lee’s last role was in the Ukrainian TV series Provincial.

However, Lee was best known in his home country for hosting popular entertainment programme Day at Home.

Beyond Ukraine, Lee starred in The Hobbit and The Lion King.

While viewers of the Peter Jackson Hobbit trilogy will not spot Lee on screen, he played a vital role in the film series.

Lee provided the Ukrainian dubbing for the voice of Bilbo Baggins in each instalment of The Hobbit Franchise.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released in 2012, while its sequels The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of Five Armies came out in 2013 and 2014.

Bilbo Baggins is the central character in each film, as the series follows his quest to become a burglar and steal treasure from a fearsome dragon.

Lee also provided dubbing for the Ukrainian translation of Disney’s The Lion King remake which was released in 2019.

The film follows a lion cub who is forced to flee his pride after his father’s death and eventually returns to reclaim his kingdom.

The 2019 partially live action film is a remake of the original animated version, released in 1994.

On 5 March, Pasha Lee posted to Instagram for the last time - it was a photo of himself, again in military gear, and the caption spoke of support for Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion.

Almost 4,000 people have left comments on his post, many of which were written after news of his death broke.

One comment read: “Our angel now”, while another said: “You were incredible, bright, true.”

Sergiy Tomilenko, Chairman at the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, left a tribute to Lee on his Facebook page.

Tomilenko wrote: “[Lee] went to fight for Ukraine from the first days of the war and died in Irpen, where there are still fierce battles with Russian occupants.

“National Association of Journalists of Ukraine express sincere condolences to Paul’s family and loved ones.”

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