Christopher Plummer

Born: 1929-12-13 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Died: 2021-02-05

Known For: Acting

Biography

Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer CC (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1958's Stage Struck, and notable film performances include The Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, The Man Who Would Be King, and The Insider. In a career that spans seven decades and includes substantial roles in each of the dramatic arts, Plummer is probably best known to film audiences as the autocratic widower Captain Georg Johannes von Trapp in the hit 1965 musical film The Sound of Music alongside Julie Andrews. Plummer has also ventured into various television projects, including the legendary miniseries The Thorn Birds. In the 21st century, his film roles include The Insider as Mike Wallace, Inside Man with Denzel Washington, the Disney–Pixar 2009 film Up as Charles Muntz, the Shane Acker production 9 as '1', The Last Station as Leo Tolstoy, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus as Doctor Parnassus, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Henrik Vanger, and Beginners as Hal. Plummer has won numerous awards and accolades for his work, including an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a SAG Award, and a BAFTA Award. With his win at the age of 82 in 2012 for Beginners, Plummer is the oldest actor and person ever to win an Academy Award. On February 5, 2021, Plummer died at his home in Weston, Connecticut, aged 91, after suffering complications from a fall. His family released a statement announcing that Plummer had "died peacefully at his home in Connecticut with his wife Elaine Taylor at his side".

Filmography

2020

The Last Full Measure as Frank Pitsenbarger

2019

Knives Out as Harlan Thrombey
Departure as Howard Lawson
Cliffs of Freedom as Thanasi
Alan Pakula: Going for Truth as Self

2018

Boundaries as Jack Jaconi
Howard Lovecraft & The Kingdom Of Madness as Dr. Jeffrey West (voice)

2017

The Exception as Kaiser Wilhelm II
The Star as King Herod (voice)
All the Money in the World as Jean Paul Getty
The Man Who Invented Christmas as Scrooge
Howard Lovecraft & the Undersea Kingdom as Dr. West (voice)
The River of My Dreams as Himself

2016

Howard Lovecraft & the Frozen Kingdom as Dr. West (voice)

2015

Remember as Zev Guttman
Danny Collins as Frank Grubman
Pixies as Pixie King (voice)
The Untold Story of The Sound of Music: A Diane Sawyer Special as Self

2014

Elsa & Fred as Fred
The Forger as Joseph Cutter
Hector and the Search for Happiness as Professor Coreman

2013

The Legend of Sarila as Croolik (voice)
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight as John Marshall Harlan
Titans of the Ice Age as Narrator
The Captains: Still Kicking as Himself

2012

Barrymore as John Barrymore
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen as (archive footage)
Behind the Wall: The Making of Skyrim as Self
Kali, the Little Vampire as Narrator (english version)

2011

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Henrik Vanger
Priest as Monsignor Orelas
Beginners as Hal Fields
Discovering Hamlet as Self

2010

The Tempest as Prospero
My Dog Tulip as J.R. Ackerley (voice)
Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood as Narrator

2009

Up as Charles F. Muntz (voice)
9 as #1 (voice)
The Last Station as Leo Tolstoy
Caesar and Cleopatra as Caesar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus as Doctor Parnassus

2008

Emotional Arithmetic as David Winters
The Summit as P.J. Aimes

2007

Already Dead as Dr. Heller
Hamlet {Solo} as Self
Man in the Chair as Flash Madden
Closing the Ring as Jack

2006

Inside Man as Arthur Case
The Lake House as Simon Wyler
Nuremberg: The Nazis Facing their Crimes as Narrator (voice over)
Eugene O’Neill: A Documentary Film as Self

2005

Syriana as Dean Whiting
Our Fathers as Cardinal Bernard Law
Four Minutes as Archie Mason
Must Love Dogs as Bill
The New World as Captain Newport
Miracle Planet as Himself - Host

2004

Alexander as Aristotle
National Treasure as John Adams Gates

2003

Blizzard as Santa Claus
Cold Creek Manor as Mr. Massie
The Gospel of John as Narrator (voice)
The Life Of Jesus as Narrator

2002

Nicholas Nickleby as Ralph Nickleby
Night Flight as 'Flash' Harry Peters
Ararat as David
Agent of Influence as John Watkins
Christopher Plummer: A Man For All Stages as Self

2001

A Beautiful Mind as Dr. Rosen
Full Disclosure as Robert Lecker
Lucky Break as Graham Mortimer
On Golden Pond as Norman Thayer

2000

Dracula 2000 as Matthew Van Helsing
Nuremberg as Sir David Maxwell Fyfe
Possessed as Archbishop Hume
American Tragedy as F. Lee Bailey
The Dinosaur Hunter as Hump Hinton
Back To "Somewhere In Time" as Self

1999

Hidden Agenda as Ulrich Steiner
The Insider as Mike Wallace
Madeline: Lost in Paris as Narrator (voice)

1998

Winchell as Franklin D. Roosevelt
Blackheart as Holmes
The Clown at Midnight as Mr. Caruthers
The First Christmas as Narrator (voice)

1997

Skeletons as Reverend Carlyle
The Arrow as George Hees
Babes in Toyland as Barnaby Crookedman (voice)
The Arrow as George Hees

1996

The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of 'Twelve Monkeys' as Self
We the Jury as Wilfred Fransiscus
The Conspiracy of Fear as Wakeman

1995

Twelve Monkeys as Dr. Goines
Harrison Bergeron as John Klaxon
Dolores Claiborne as John Mackey

1994

Wolf as Raymond Alden
Crackerjack as Ivan Getz
Michael Caine: Breaking the Mold as Self (archive footage)

1993

A Stranger in the Mirror as Clifton Lawrence
Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic as Narrator

1992

Malcolm X as Chaplain Gill
Impolite as Naples O'Rorke
Liar's Edge as Harry Weldon
The First Circle as Viktor Abakumov
Secrets as Mel Wexler

1991

Firehead as Col. Garland Vaughn
Money as Martin Yahl
Rock-A-Doodle as Grand Duke (voice)
Madeline and the Gypsies as Narrator (voice)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as Chang
Madeline in London as Narrator (voice)
Young Catherine as Sir Charles
Berlin Lady as Wilhelm Speer
Madeline and the Bad Hat as Narrator (voice)

1990

Counterstrike as Alexander Addington
A Ghost in Monte Carlo as The Grand Duke Ivan
Where the Heart Is as Shitty
Madeline's Christmas as Narrator (voice)
Red Blooded American Girl as Dr. John Alcore
The Little Crooked Christmas Tree as Narrator

1989

Mindfield as Doctor Satorius
Souvenir as Ernst Kestner
The First Emperor of China as Self - Narrator (voice)
Nabokov on Kafka as Vladimir Nabokov

1988

American Experience as Narrator
Shadow Dancing as Edmund Beaumont
Madeline as Narrator (voice)
Nosferatu in Venice as Professor Paris Catalano
Madeline as Narrator (voice)
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind as Narrator (voice)

1987

Dragnet as Reverend Jonathan Whirley
The Nightingale as Narrator (voice)
A Hazard of Hearts as Sir Giles Staverley
I Love N.Y. as John Robertson Yeats

1986

An American Tail as Henri (voice)
The Boss' Wife as Mr. Roalvang
The Boy in Blue as Knox
The Tin Soldier as Narrator (voice)
Spearfield's Daughter as Lord Jack Cruze
Crossings as Armand DeVilliers

1985

Rumpelstiltskin as Narrator
The Velveteen Rabbit as Narrator (voice)

1984

The Cosby Show as Jonathan Lawrence
Dreamscape as Bob Blair
Ordeal by Innocence as Leo Argyle
Lily in Love as Fitzroy Wynn / Roberto Terranova

1983

The Thorn Birds as Archbishop Vittorio Contini-Verchese
Prototype as Dr. Carl Forrester
The Scarlet and the Black as Col. Herbert Kappler
SuperTed

1982

Nature as Narrator (voice)
Highpoint as James Hatcher
Night of 100 Stars as Self
Little Gloria... Happy at Last as Reggie Vanderbilt

1981

Being Different as Self (Narrator) (voice)
Dial M for Murder as Tony Wendice
When the Circus Came to Town as Duke Royal
The Amateur as Professor Lakos
Eyewitness as Joseph

1980

Desperate Voyage as Jacques Burrifous
The Shadow Box as Brian
Somewhere in Time as William Fawcett Robinson

1979

Hanover Street as Paul Sellinger
Murder by Decree as Sherlock Holmes
Riel as Prime Minister John A. Macdonald

1978

Starcrash as The Emperor
International Velvet as John Seaton
The Silent Partner as Reikle

1977

The Disappearance as Deverell
Jesus of Nazareth as Herod Antipas
Silver Blaze as Sherlock Holmes
The Assignment as Kaptain Behounek

1976

Aces High as Capt. 'Uncle' Sinclair
Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers as Roscoe Heyward

1975

The Man Who Would Be King as Rudyard Kipling
The Day That Shook the World as Archduke Ferdinand
Conduct Unbecoming as Maggiore Alastair Wimbourne
The Return of the Pink Panther as Sir Charles Litton
The Spiral Staircase as Dr. Joe Sherman

1974

After the Fall as Quentin
The Happy Prince as The Happy Prince (voice)

1973

The Pyx as Dt. Sgt. Jim Henderson

1970

Waterloo as Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

1969

Battle of Britain as Squadron Leader Colin Harvey
Lock Up Your Daughters as Lord Foppington
The Royal Hunt of the Sun as Atahualpa

1968

The Dick Cavett Show as Self - Guest
Oedipus the King as Oedipus
Nobody Runs Forever as Sir James Quentin

1967

Omnibus as Narrator
The Night of the Generals as Field Marshal Rommel

1966

Triple Cross as Freddie Chapman
Inside Daisy Clover as Raymond Swan

1965

BBC Play of the Month as Don Juan
The Sound of Music as Captain Georg von Trapp
Salzburg Sight and Sound as Self

1964

The Fall of the Roman Empire as Commodus
Hamlet at Elsinore as Hamlet

1963

30 Minutes, Mister Plummer as Himself
Trans-Canada Journey as Narrator (voice)

1961

The Mike Douglas Show as Self

1960

Captain Brassbound's Conversion as Captain Brassbound

1959

A Doll's House as Torvald
NBC Sunday Showcase

1958

Stage Struck as Joe Sheridan
Johnny Belinda as Dr. Jack Pelletier
Little Moon of Alban as Kenneth Boyd
Wind Across the Everglades as Walt Murdock

1957

DuPont Show of the Month as Sir Miles Hendon

1956

Tony Awards as Self - Nominee

1953

The Oscars as Self
General Electric Theater as Walter Shelley
Kraft Television Theatre

1952

Omnibus

1951

Hallmark Hall of Fame as Dr. Jack Pelletier

1949

Suspense

1948

Studio One as Dick
The Ed Sullivan Show as Self

1944

Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee