Christopher Plummer on screen and stage
Christopher Plummer (1929–2021) was a Canadian film, television and stage actor. On stage, Plummer's most notable roles were that of Cyrano de Bergerac in Cyrano (1974) and as John Barrymore in Barrymore. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for these two roles. On film, Plummer is known for portraying Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965).[1]
Plummer won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Mike Mills' film Beginners (2011). He also appeared in Waterloo (1970), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Malcolm X (1992), and A Beautiful Mind (2001). He portrayed journalist Mike Wallace in The Insider (1999), author Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station (2009), Arthur Case in Inside Man (2006), and J. Paul Getty in All the Money in the World (2017). Plummer had provided his voice for two animated films: the Don Bluth film An American Tail (1986) and the Pixar film Up (2009).[2]
At the time of his death, he had been filming season 2 of Departure. He was set to play the lead in a film adaptation of King Lear to be filmed in summer 2021, but he died in February, thus being unable to take part in the film.[3][4]
Film[edit]
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Broadway Television Theatre | Michael O'Leary | Episode: "Dark Victory" | |
| 1955 | Kraft Television Theatre | Robert Carr | Episode: "The King's Bounty" | |
| Producers' Showcase | Christian de Neuvillette | Episode: "Cyrano de Bergerac" | ||
| 1956 | General Electric Theater | Walter Shelley | Episode: "A Letter from the Queen" | |
| The Alcoa Hour | Bruce Quealy | Episode: "Even the Weariest River" | ||
| 1957–1958 | Omnibus | Thomas Mendip / Oedipus | 2 episodes | |
| 1957–1961 | DuPont Show of the Month | Various roles | 2 episodes | |
| 1958 | Little Moon of Alban | Kenneth Boyd | Television film | |
| 1959 | Johnny Belinda | Dr. Jack Pelletier | Television film | |
| A Doll's House | Torvald Helmer | Television film | ||
| The Philadelphia Story | Mike Connor | Television film | ||
| 1960 | NBC Sunday Showcase | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. | 2 episodes | |
| Captain Brassbound's Conversion | Captain Brassbound | Television film | ||
| 1961 | Playdate | Himself | 13 episodes | |
| Time Remembered | Prince Albert | Television film | ||
| 1962 | Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano de Bergerac | Television film | |
| 1964 | Hamlet at Elsinore | Hamlet | Television film | |
| 1968 | The Secret of Michelangelo | Narrator | TV documentary | |
| 1971 | Don Juan in Hell | Don Juan | Television film | |
| 1974 | Witness to Yesterday | Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington | Episode: "The Duke of Wellington" | |
| After the Fall | Quentin | Television film | ||
| 1976 | The Moneychangers | Roscoe Heyward | Miniseries, 4 episodes | |
| 1977 | Silver Blaze | Sherlock Holmes | Television film | |
| Jesus of Nazareth | Herod Antipas | Miniseries, 2 episodes | ||
| 1979 | Riel | Sir John A. Macdonald | Television film | |
| 1980 | Desperate Voyage | Burrifous | Television film | |
| The Shadow Box | Brian | Television film | ||
| 1981 | When the Circus Came to Town | Duke Royal | Television film | |
| 1981 | Dial M for Murder | Tony Wendice | Television film | |
| 1982 | Little Gloria... Happy at Last | Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt | Miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| 1983 | The Scarlet and the Black | Colonel Herbert Kappler | Television film | |
| The Thorn Birds | Archbishop Vittorio Contini-Verchese | Miniseries, 3 episodes | ||
| Prototype | Dr. Carl Forrester | Television film | ||
| 1985 | Rumpelstiltskin | Narrator | Television film | |
| The Velveteen Rabbit | Narrator | Television film | ||
| 1986 | Crossings | Armand DeVilliers | Miniseries, 3 episodes | |
| Spearfield's Daughter | Lord Jack Cruze | Television film | ||
| 1987 | A Hazard of Hearts | Sir Giles Staverley | Television film | |
| The Cosby Show | Jonathan Lawrence | Episode: "Shakespeare" | ||
| The World of David the Gnome | Narrator | English version | ||
| 1988–1991 | Madeline | Narrator | 6 episodes | |
| 1989 | Nabokov on Kafka | Vladimir Nabokov | Television short | |
| 1990 | A Ghost in Monte Carlo | The Grand Duke Ivan | Television film | |
| 1990–1993 | Counterstrike | Alexander Addington | 65 episodes | |
| 1991 | Young Catherine | Sir Charles Williams | Miniseries, 3 episodes | |
| A Marriage: Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz | Alfred Stieglitz | Television film | ||
| Berlin Lady | Wilhem Speer | 6 episodes | ||
| The First Circle | Victor Abakumov | Television film | ||
| 1992 | Secrets | Mel Wexler | Television film | |
| 1993 | A Stranger in the Mirror | Clifton Lawrence | Television film | |
| 1993–1995 | Madeline | Narrator | 33 episodes | [5] |
| 1995 | Harrison Bergeron | John Klaxon | Television film | |
| 1996 | We the Jury | Wilfred Fransiscus | Television film | |
| Skeletons | Reverend Carlyle | Television film | ||
| 1997 | The Arrow | George Hees | Miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| 1998 | Winchell | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Television film | |
| 2000 | Nuremberg | Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe | Miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| The Dinosaur Hunter | Hump Hinton | Television film | ||
| Possessed | Archbishop Hume | Television film | ||
| American Tragedy | F. Lee Bailey | 2 episodes | ||
| 2001 | Leo's Journey | Narrator | Television film | |
| On Golden Pond | Norman Thayer | Television film | ||
| 2002 | Night Flight | Harry 'Flash' Peters | Television film | |
| Agent of Influence | John Watkins | Television film | ||
| 2003 | Odd Job Jack | Magnus The Maker | Episode: "Holyland" | |
| 2005 | Our Fathers | Cardinal Bernard Law | Television film | |
| Miracle Planet | Narrator | 6 episodes | ||
| Four Minutes | Archie Mason | Television film | ||
| 2006 | American Experience | Narrator / James Tyrone | Episode: "Eugene O'Neill" | |
| 2008 | The Summit | P. J. Aimes | Miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| 2013 | Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight | John Marshall Harlan II | Television film | |
| 2019–2021 | Departure | Howard Larson | 12 episodes | |
| 2020 | Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time | Himself - Video Clue Presenter | 1 episode |
Theatre[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | The Starcross Story | George Phillips | Royale Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1954 | Home is the Hero | Manchester Monagham | Booth Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1955 | The Dark is Light Enough | Count Peter Zichy | ANTA Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1955 | The Lark | Warwick | Longacre Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1956 | Henry V | Henry V | Stratford Film Festival | |
| 1956 | Night of the Auk | Lewis Roheman | Playhouse Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1958 | J.B. | Nickles | ANTA Playhouse, Broadway | |
| 1963 | The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui | Arturo Ui | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1965 | The Royal Hunt of the Sun | Francisco Pizarro | ANTA Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1971 | Amphitryon 38 | Jean Giraudoux | National Theatre, London Directed by Laurence Olivier |
|
| 1973 | The Good Doctor | Performer | Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1974 | Cyrano | Cyrano de Bergerac | Palace Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1978 | Drinks Before Dinner | Edgar | The Public Theatre, Off-Broadway | |
| 1982 | Othello | Iago | Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1988 | Macbeth | Macbeth | O'Keefe Centre, Toronto Ontario | [7] |
| 1988 | Macbeth | Macbeth | Mark Hellinger Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1994 | No Man's Land | Spooner | Roundabout Theater Company, Broadway | [8] |
| 1997 | Barrymore | John Barrymore | Music Box Theatre, Broadway | [9] |
| 2004 | King Lear | King Lear | Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Broadway | [10] |
| 2007 | Inherit the Wind | Henry Drummond | Lyceum Theatre, Broadway | [11] |
| 2008 | Caesar and Cleopatra | Julius Caesar | Stratford Festival | |
| 2010 | The Tempest | Prospero | Stratford Festival |
Video games[edit]
| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Star Trek: Klingon Academy | General Chang | Live action | |
| 2009 | Up | Charles Muntz | ||
| 2011 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Arngeir | [5] | |
| 2012 | Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure | Charles Muntz |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Judy Abel (January 31, 2010). "At 80, Plummer has arrived at his 'Station'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- ^ Corliss, Richard (May 28, 2009). "Up, Up and Away: Another New High for Pixar". Time. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- ^ Victoria Ahearn (October 9, 2020). "Christopher Plummer set to film season 2 of 'Departure' from his home due to pandemic". Toronto: City News. The Canadian Press.
- ^ "Des McAnuff on the 'King Lear' film Christopher Plummer was 'very passionate about'". Yahoo News. The Canadian Press. February 6, 2021. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Christopher Plummer (Visual voices guide)".
- ^ "The Long Dark Inspires a Short Film, With Christopher Plummer's Help". pastemagazine.com. August 1, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ TobySimkin (March 8, 1988). "Macbeth (1988 Toronto) - Toby Simkin ★ Broadway". Retrieved June 16, 2023.
- ^ "No Man's Land". Variety. January 28, 1994. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Tony-Winner Christopher Plummer Starts Barrymore Tour, July 11". Playbill.com. July 11, 1998. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Christopher Plummer Is Shakespeare's Mad Monarch as King Lear Begins at Beaumont". Playbill.com. February 11, 2004. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Plummer and Dennehy to Inherit the Wind on Broadway". Playbill.com. October 5, 2006. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
References[edit]
- "Christopher Plummer – Filmography". Allmovie. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
- "Christopher Plummer on Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 19, 2017.