Legendary actor Christopher Plummer, who first appeared in Stage Struck in 1956 and continued to impress audiences in Knives Out in 2019, was a veteran performer of stage and screen whose career spanned seven decades. Nominated for three Academy Awards, the classically trained Thespian didn’t win an Oscar until he was 82 (and at 88 was the oldest actor ever nominated for one), proving to the world that he was at his most formidable and vital in the last decades of his life, an unusual feat for any actor.
Known for playing everything from soldiers and spies, to villains and historical figures, many of his fans thought the versatile actor would be delighting the world with performances into his tenth decade. His most famous character, that of the dashing Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, became a symbol of courage in the face of intolerance, and one that continues to be the crown jewel of an acting legacy that includes some of the most memorable performances ever put to screen.
General Chang
The Star Trek franchise has had many iconic villains, from Khan to the Borg Queen, but perhaps none so artfully clever, charismatic, and ruthless as General Chang from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, one of the last movies to feature the entire cast of Star Trek: The Original Trilogy.
Plummer made Chang, a war-hawk intent on engineering war with the Federation, as imposing as Commander Worf and as aristocratic as Captain Picard, several years before either of those characters would be known for their brute strength and oratory brilliance. Chang was a Shakespeare-quoting egomaniac, and he managed to make the impossible happen; audiences rooted for him as much as they rooted for Kirk.
Captain Von Trapp
Arguably his most famous role to date, Captain Von Trapp was the imperious widower who entrusted the tutelage of his seven children to a spunky governess (Julie Andrews) whom he later falls in love with.
Though Plummer famously found the movie maudlin, often referring to it as “The Sound of Mucus”, his performance was anything but. Watching his character’s slow metamorphosis from dictatorial dad to tender-hearted lover and freedom fighter continues to be a master study in acting. Plus, watching Von Trapp tear up the Nazi flag has united viewers against tyranny for generations, and will no doubt do so for many more.
Sherlock Holmes
With his aquiline features, dapper comportment, and aura of intelligence, it’s no surprise that Christopher Plummer played the World’s Greatest Detective, Sherlock Holmes in Murder By Decree. That Plummer wasn’t British did nothing to prevent him from making an ordinarily aloof character charismatic and appealing.
Paired with the incomparable James Mason as Dr. John Watson, Plummer makes the most out of his ability to turn dyspeptic men into likable rogues. He is at his best rattling off clues and insights as only he, a master of elocution, could make sound believable.
William Fawcett Robinson
Even in this forgotten ’80s classic, Plummer played his part with all seriousness, elevating the material of the romantic period drama Somewhere In Time and making it much more than a fluff piece. As William Fawcett Robinson, manager of Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour) at the turn of the 20th century, he was an antagonist for the movie’s hero (Christopher Reeve), a time-traveling playwright who falls in love with McKenna’s portrait.
When the love-struck man appears in 1912, he must court his muse at the peril of Robinson’s ire, who is both interested in her as a meal ticket as well as a life partner. But Plummer naturally gives what would be a typical romantic foil complexity and dignity, and audiences care as much about Robinson’s future as they do the two lovers living happily ever after.
Reverend Jonathan Whirley
Plummer played a lot of villains over his long career, and he was so good at it that he often made them more interesting than the heroes. In Dragnet, a spoof of the famous television police procedural, he played Rev. Jonathan Whirley, a televangelist with corrupt morals who (while wearing goat-leg chaps) moonlighted as a cult leader (of the aptly named PAGAN, People Against Goodness And Normalcy).
Whether it was Plummer’s idea to make his sadistic reverend giggle at even the most macabre displays of violence or not, he became all the more chilling because of his complete lack of empathy, and he stole the show right out from under funnymen like Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks.
Hal Fields
Plummer won his first and only Academy Award at 82 for playing Hal Fields, a character based on director Mike Mills’ father in the movie Beginners, about a man who comes out as gay after deciding he wants to live the remaining years of his life being true to himself.
Plummer imbues Hal with warmth and gravitas, and acknowledges the impact of his character’s decision on his family. Of particular note are the scenes between him and his son (Ewan McGregor), where he introduces other sides of himself, knowing that they may be rejected.
Raymond Swan
As the Svangeli-like Raymond Swan, Plummer makes an entire meal out of the part of a film producer and agent, who plucks Daisy Clover (Natalie Wood) out of obscurity and turns her into a popular child star. Suffering from an inherited mental illness (for which her mother is institutionalized), she has breakdown after breakdown at his hand, and each time Swan forces her back to work.
Referred to as the “Princess of Darkness” in the movie, Plummer is equal parts oleaginous and dashing, intimidating and manipulative. With his icy demeanor, he is the perfect counter to Clover’s manic personality.
Harry Reikle
Before there was Bad Santa, Christopher Plummer played Harry Reikle, a mall Santa Claus who masterminds a bank heist but is foiled by a sharp bank teller (Elliot Gould). Determined to get revenge, Reikle starts following him, and a terrifying game of cat and mouse begins, continuing through Reikle’s imprisonment, and ending in a climactic showdown.
Plummer is unhinged in The Silent Partner, the last of the taut ’70s thrillers, and delivers a performance unlike anything his fans have ever seen. From dressing in various disguises to decapitating a woman with an empty fish tank, he pushes credulity to the limit but manages to never come across as ridiculous.
Harlan Thrombey
It just makes sense to cast a distinguished actor like Plummer as an eccentric mystery writer who lives in a house that looks like the set of Clue and has a tempestuous relationship with his money-grubbing family. Harlan Thrombey is the greater puzzle of all, whose untimely death is at the center of Knives Out and puts into motion machinations that affect every character surrounding him.
For a lesser actor, the role of Thrombey might have faded into the background, especially given the large and talented ensemble cast. But having Plummer in the part, as a friend, father, or piggy bank to every one of his family members makes the scope of the thriller believable. A grand man for a grand movie, in his last grand performance.
J. Paul Getty
The role of John Paul Getty became renowned because of the controversy it was mired in when Kevin Spacey left the project due to accusations of sexual misconduct. Thankfully, Christopher Plummer made it memorable for other reasons, and his efforts resulted in him being nominated for an Academy Award for his contributions.
Not only did he bring the appropriate amount of distinction to the part of a historical figure, he also blended the sympathy of a concerned grandfather, desperate to track down his kidnapped grandson, with the ruthlessness of a titan of industry not to be crossed.
