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This past year has been good to Canadian actor Christopher Plummer. At the ripe old age of 81, he is not only still working in feature films, but, it seems, his career is flourishing. Currently, Plummer’s can be seen as the steadfast Henrik Vanger in David Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, patriarch of a once powerful, but secretive family.
Last month, Plummer won his second nomination and first Academy Award for his supporting role in the independent film Beginners, playing Ewan McGregor’s father. With it, he becomes the most senior actor to have won an acting Oscar. In addition to his shiny new Academy Award, Plummer has earned two Emmys, two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, and a roomful of other critical accolades gathered over seven decades in the business.
Plummer’s distinguished career spans more than 100 films. Arguably, his most famous role is Captain Georg Ludvig von Trapp opposite Julie Andrews’ Maria in 1965’s The Sound of Music. The film adaptation of Rogers and Hammerstein’s iconic musical movie won numerous awards, including a Best Picture Oscar, and more than 50 years later is still enjoyed by viewers young and old across the globe.
Over years, Plummer has created a wide range of indelible characters, including his snappish 60 Minutes host Mike Wallace in 1999’s The Insider with Russell Crowe, which won him critical acclaim and several awards. Incredibly, his first Oscar nomination, was not until his portrayal of Russian author Leo Tolstoy in the 2010 movie The Last Station.
His work on Broadway has also been stellar and diverse, winning the actor several Tony Award nominations and two wins. Often coming back to the classics, Plummer has a received acclaim for his many memorable roles in Shakespearian productions on Broadway, Canada’s Stratford Festival, and on the London stage. He’s played everything from Petruchio (Romeo and Juliet) and Mark Antony (Antony and Cleopatra) in the ‘60s, to his more recent work in the title role in King Lear (2002) and as Prospero in The Tempest (2010).
Plummer shows no sign of slowing down, appearing in four films released over the past year. He is slated next to appear in Stephen Frears’ film Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, currently being readied for production.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo will be released on Blu-ray and DVD March 20, and is now available for pre-order.
