Christopher Plummer

Biography

Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer was born on December 13, 1929, in Toronto, Ontario, into a well-known Canadian family. His great-grandfather was Sir John Abbott, Canada's third Prime Minister. Plummer went to the High School of Montreal, then attended McGill University and Western University. He began his acting career in Ottawa in the late 1940s and went on to perform in stage productions across Canada, the United States, and Bermuda.

Plummer debuted on Broadway in 1954 with The Starcross Story, making a name for himself as a serious stage actor. His strong presence and classical training won him praise in both Shakespearean roles and modern dramas. He earned his first Tony Award in 1974 for Cyrano de Bergerac in the musical Cyrano, and another in 1997 for playing John Barrymore in Barrymore. Throughout his stage career, he received several Tony nominations for roles in J.B., Othello, No Man's Land, King Lear, and Inherit the Wind.

His film career began in 1958 with Stage Struck and Wind Across the Everglades. Plummer gained international fame as Captain Georg von Trapp alongside Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965), though he later felt mixed about the role that made him famous. In the 1960s and 1970s, he starred in historical films like The Fall of the Roman Empire, Waterloo, and The Man Who Would Be King, proving himself as a versatile actor in both lead and supporting roles.

Later in his career, Plummer became prominent again in films, earning three Academy Award nominations after turning 80. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2012 for Beginners, becoming the oldest actor to win an Oscar at age 82. He also received nominations for The Last Station and All the Money in the World. His rich filmography includes roles in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, The Insider, A Beautiful Mind, and Inside Man. Plummer passed away on February 5, 2021, in Weston, Connecticut, leaving behind a career that spanned theater, film, and television over seven decades.