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Christopher Plummer

Acting

Born December 13, 1929 · Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Died February 5, 2021

Also known as Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer

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".

Awards & recognition

  • John Willis AwardLifetime Achievement · 2014
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actor · 2012
  • Governor General's Performing Arts Award · 2001
  • Canada's Walk of Fame · 1998
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Play · 1997
Show all 23 awards →
  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie · 1977
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Musical · 1974
  • Companion of the Order of Canada · 1968
  • Theatre World Award · 1955
  • Golden Globe Awards
  • Honorary doctor of the University of Ottawa
  • Honour in GoldServices to the Republic of Austria
  • Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
  • Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
  • Sam Wanamaker Award
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actor · 2018 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actor · 2012 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actor · 2010 · nominated
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Play · 2007 · nominated
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Play · 2004 · nominated
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Play · 1994 · nominated
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Play · 1982 · nominated
  • Tony AwardBest Actor in a Play · 1959 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

Michael Caine: Breaking the Mold

1994as Self (archive footage)

The Tempest

2010as Prospero

Up

2009as Charles Muntz (voice)

A Beautiful Mind

2001as Dr. Rosen

A Hazard of Hearts

1987as Sir Giles Staverley

Nature

1982as Narrator (voice)

Knives Out

2019as Harlan Thrombey

Jesus of Nazareth

1977as Herod Antipas

Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic

1993as Narrator

The Sound of Music

1965as Captain Georg von Trapp

The Gospel of John

2003as Narrator (voice)

12 Monkeys

1995as Dr. Goines

Malcolm X

1992as Chaplain Gill

The Insider

1999as Mike Wallace

Somewhere in Time

1980as William Fawcett 'W.F.' Robinson

The Man Who Would Be King

1975as Rudyard Kipling

Remember

2015as Zev Guttman

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2011as Henrik Vanger

Inside Man

2006as Arthur Case

International Velvet

1978as John Seaton

The Last Full Measure

2019as Frank Pitsenbarger

Dolores Claiborne

1995as John Mackey

When the Circus Came to Town

1981as Duke Royal

Agent of Influence

2002as John Watkins

The Thorn Birds

1983as Archbishop Vittorio Contini-Verchese

The Silent Partner

1978as Reikle

Heroes of the Golden Mask

2023as Rizzo (voice)

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster

2021as Self

9

2009as #1 (voice)

The Lake House

2006as Simon Wyler

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

1991as Chang

The Cosby Show

1984as Jonathan Lawrence

The Scarlet and the Black

1983as Col. Herbert Kappler

Cliffs of Freedom

2019as Thanasi

The Exception

2016as Kaiser Wilhelm II

Nicholas Nickleby

2002as Ralph Nickleby

Battle of Britain

1969as Squadron Leader Colin Harvey

The Man Who Invented Christmas

2017as Scrooge

Beginners

2010as Hal Fields

Madeline: Lost in Paris

1999as Narrator (voice)

An American Tail

1986as Henri (voice)

Being Different

1981as Self (Narrator) (voice)

The Return of the Pink Panther

1975as Sir Charles Litton

The Dick Cavett Show

1968as Self - Guest

The Night of the Generals

1967as Field Marshal Rommel

The Ed Sullivan Show

1948as Self

Danny Collins

2015as Frank Grubman

Hector and the Search for Happiness

2014as Professor Coreman

National Treasure

2004as John Adams Gates

American Experience

1988as Narrator