Christopher Plummer

Christopher Plummer (born Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer, 13.12.1929)

Christopher Plummer is a Canadian actor. His career has lasted for over five decades and his most pivotal role is most probably his portrayal of Captain Georg von Trapp in Sound of Music.

Christopher Plummer: Childhood

Christopher Plummer was born to Isabella Mary and John Orme Plummer. He was an only child and his parents divorced when he was very young. His mother's family raised him in Quebec, near Montreal. Despite studying to be a concert pianist, Plummer discovered his love of theatre as a child and decided to pursue his acting career, traveling by train to study with the Canadian Repertory Theatre, based in Ottowa.

Christopher Plummer: Acting Career

Plummer has had an extensive theatrical career, encompassing many classic roles, including King Lear (as directed by Jonathan Miller).

In 1958, Christopher Plummer made his film debut, when Sidney Lumet cast him in Stage Struck, alongside Henry Fonda. The following year, he played the role of Torvald, in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House.

In 1964, Plummer starred opposite Sophia Loren and Alec Guinness in The Fall of the Roman Empire. This was followed by a starring role in Sound of Music, which also starred Julie Andrews and Eleanor Parker.

Plummer maintained a steady career throughout the 1960s, ending the decade with an appearance in Lock Up Your Daughters! which was an adaptation of a Henry Fielding comedy, starring Susannah York. In 1975, he starred alongside Peter Sellers in the hugely popular The Return of the Pink Panther. That same year, he played the role of Rudyard Kipling in The Man Who Would Be King. The film also starred Sean Connery and Michael Caine. 1978's International Velvet saw Plummer sharing screen-time with Anthony Hopkins and Tatum O'Neal.

In both 1979 and 1981, Christopher Plummer won a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; the first was in Murder by Decree, with James Mason. The second was for his role in The Amateur, with John Savage. Two years on, Plummer won an Emmy for his supporting role in The Thorn Birds, which starred Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward.

1987 saw Plummer appearing in the cult classic, Dragnet, which had Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd in the lead roles. Three years later, he took on the role of a homeless magician named Shitty, in Where The Heart Is, in which he worked alongside Suzy Amis, Uma Thurman and Crispin Glover.

1992 was a pivotal year for Plummer; he earned another Genie award nomination, for his supporting role in Impolite. It was also the year that he appeared in Malcolm X, the Academy Award-winning film starring Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett and Spike Lee. Three years later, he landed a role in the Terry Gilliam-directed Twelve Monkeys, which starred Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt.

Christopher Plummer also starred in the Michael Mann film, The Insider, with Al Pacino, Russell Crowe and Michael Gambon.

Plummer played the role of F. Lee Bailey in the acclaimed television film American Tragedy, which detailed the story of OJ Simpson's murder trial. In 2001, Plummer was part of a highly revered cast in A Beautiful Mind. Directed by Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind starred Russell Crowe, Jennifer Garner and Ed Harris.

More Genie award nominations came for Christopher Plummer with his role in Ararat in 2002. 2004 saw Christopher Plummer appearing in two hit films. The first was National Treasure with Nicolas Cage and the second was Oliver Stone's Alexander, starring Colin Farrell, Jared Leto and Angelina Jolie.

This was followed in 2005 with an Emmy nomination and a Screen Actors Guild nomination, for his role in Our Fathers, in which he starred along with Ted Danson, Daniel Baldwin and Ellen Burstyn. Later that year, Christopher Plummer appeared in Syriana, which starred Matt Damon, George Clooney and Amanda Peet.

In The Lake House, Christopher Plummer appeared along with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. In 2009, he worked with Terry Gilliam once more, in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which was to be the last film that Heath Ledger worked on before his untimely death.

Christopher Plummer: Personal Life

Christopher Plummer has been married three times, His first wife was the actress Tammy Grimes. His second was the journalist Patricia Lewis and the third is the dancer and actress Elaine Regina Taylor, to whom he has been married since 1970.

Plummer has published an autobiography, entitled In Spite of Myself.