Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer CC (December 13, 1929 - February 5, 2021) was a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1958's Stage Struck, and notable film performances include The Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, The Man Who Would Be King, and The Insider. In a career that spans seven decades and includes substantial roles in each of the dramatic arts, Plummer is probably best known to film audiences as the autocratic widower Captain Georg Johannes von Trapp in the hit 1965 musical film The Sound of Music alongside Julie Andrews. Plummer has also ventured into various television projects, including the legendary miniseries The Thorn Birds.
In the 21st century, his film roles include The Insider as Mike Wallace, Inside Man with Denzel Washington, the Disney–Pixar 2009 film Up as Charles Muntz, the Shane Acker production 9 as '1', The Last Station as Leo Tolstoy, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus as Doctor Parnassus, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Henrik Vanger, and Beginners as Hal.
Plummer has won numerous awards and accolades for his work, including an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a SAG Award, and a BAFTA Award. With his win at the age of 82 in 2012 for Beginners, Plummer is the oldest actor and person ever to win an Academy Award.
On February 5, 2021, Plummer died at his home in Weston, Connecticut, aged 91, after suffering complications from a fall. His family released a statement announcing that Plummer had "died peacefully at his home in Connecticut with his wife Elaine Taylor at his side".
Academy Awards
Best Supporting Actor
Known For
Up
(2009)
Charles F. Muntz (voice)
A Beautiful Mind
(2001)
Dr. Rosen
Knives Out
(2019)
Harlan Thrombey
The Sound of Music
(1965)
Captain Georg von Trapp
9
(2009)
#1 (voice)
Twelve Monkeys
(1995)
Dr. Goines
National Treasure
(2004)
John Adams Gates
Inside Man
(2006)
Arthur Case
Malcolm X
(1992)
Chaplain Gill
Alexander
(2004)
Aristotle
Somewhere in Time
(1980)
William Fawcett Robinson
Priest
(2011)
Monsignor Orelas
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(2011)
Henrik Vanger
Dracula 2000
(2000)
Matthew Van Helsing
The Fall of the Roman Empire
(1964)
Commodus
The Insider
(1999)
Mike Wallace
Full Filmography
Acting
Wind Across the Everglades
(1958)
Walt Murdock
Johnny Belinda
(1958)
Dr. Jack Pelletier
Little Moon of Alban
(1958)
Kenneth Boyd
Stage Struck
(1958)
Joe Sheridan
A Doll's House
(1959)
Torvald
Captain Brassbound's Conversation
(1960)
Captain Brassbound
Trans-Canada Journey
(1963)
Narrator (voice)
30 Minutes, Mister Plummer
(1963)
Himself
The Fall of the Roman Empire
(1964)
Commodus
Hamlet at Elsinore
(1964)
Hamlet
Salzburg Sight and Sound
(1965)
Self
Inside Daisy Clover
(1965)
Raymond Swan
The Sound of Music
(1965)
Captain Georg von Trapp
Triple Cross
(1966)
Freddie Chapman
The Night of the Generals
(1967)
Field Marshal Rommel
Oedipus the King
(1968)
Oedipus
Nobody Runs Forever
(1968)
Sir James Quentin
Lock Up Your Daughters
(1969)
Lord Foppington
The Royal Hunt of the Sun
(1969)
Atahualpa
Battle of Britain
(1969)
Squadron Leader Colin Harvey
Waterloo
(1970)
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
The Pyx
(1973)
Dt. Sgt. Jim Henderson
The Happy Prince
(1974)
The Happy Prince (voice)
After the Fall
(1974)
Quentin
The Spiral Staircase
(1975)
Dr. Sherman
The Return of the Pink Panther
(1975)
Sir Charles Litton
Conduct Unbecoming
(1975)
Maggiore Alastair Wimbourne
The Day That Shook the World
(1975)
Archduke Ferdinand
The Man Who Would Be King
(1975)
Rudyard Kipling
Aces High
(1976)
Capt. 'Uncle' Sinclair
The Disappearance
(1977)
Deverell
The Assignment
(1977)
Kaptain Behounek
Silver Blaze
(1977)
Sherlock Holmes
Starcrash
(1978)
The Emperor
International Velvet
(1978)
John Seaton
The Silent Partner
(1978)
Reikle
Hanover Street
(1979)
Paul Sellinger
Murder by Decree
(1979)
Sherlock Holmes
Desperate Voyage
(1980)
Jacques Burrifous
Somewhere in Time
(1980)
William Fawcett Robinson
The Shadow Box
(1980)
Brian
Eyewitness
(1981)
Joseph
Dial M for Murder
(1981)
Tony Wendice
The Amateur
(1981)
Professor Lakos
Being Different
(1981)
Self (Narrator) (voice)
When the Circus Came to Town
(1981)
Duke Royal
Highpoint
(1982)
James Hatcher
Night of 100 Stars
(1982)
Self
Prototype
(1983)
Dr. Carl Forrester
The Scarlet and the Black
(1983)
Col. Herbert Kappler
Ordeal by Innocence
(1984)
Leo Argyle
Dreamscape
(1984)
Bob Blair
Lily in Love
(1984)
Fitzroy Wynn / Roberto Terranova
The Velveteen Rabbit
(1985)
Narrator (voice)
Rumpelstiltskin
(1985)
Narrator
Spearfield's Daughter
(1986)
Lord Jack Cruze
An American Tail
(1986)
Henri (voice)
The Tin Soldier
(1986)
Narrator (voice)
The Boy in Blue
(1986)
Knox
The Boss' Wife
(1986)
Mr. Roalvang
I Love N.Y.
(1987)
John Robertson Yeats
Dragnet
(1987)
Reverend Jonathan Whirley
A Hazard of Hearts
(1987)
Sir Giles Staverley
The Nightingale
(1987)
Narrator (voice)
Nosferatu in Venice
(1988)
Professor Paris Catalano
Madeline
(1988)
Narrator (voice)
Shadow Dancing
(1988)
Edmund Beaumont
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
(1988)
Narrator (voice)
Mindfield
(1989)
Doctor Satorius
The First Emperor of China
(1989)
Narrator
Souvenir
(1989)
Ernst Kestner
Nabokov on Kafka
(1989)
Vladimir Nabokov
Where the Heart Is
(1990)
Shitty
A Ghost in Monte Carlo
(1990)
The Grand Duke Ivan
Red Blooded American Girl
(1990)
Dr. John Alcore
The Little Crooked Christmas Tree
(1990)
Narrator
Rock-A-Doodle
(1991)
Grand Duke (voice)
Madeline and the Bad Hat
(1991)
Narrator (voice)
Firehead
(1991)
Col. Garland Vaughn
Money
(1991)
Martin Yahl
Madeline in London
(1991)
Narrator (voice)
Madeline and the Gypsies
(1991)
Narrator (voice)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
(1991)
General Chang
Impolite
(1992)
Naples O'Rorke
Malcolm X
(1992)
Chaplain Gill
Liar's Edge
(1992)
Harry Weldon
Secrets
(1992)
Mel Wexler
A Stranger in the Mirror
(1993)
Clifton Lawrence
Madeline at the Ballet
(1993)
Narrator (voice)
Madeline at Cooking School
(1993)
Narrator
Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic
(1993)
Narrator
Wolf
(1994)
Raymond Alden
Michael Caine: Breaking the Mold
(1994)
Self (archive footage)
Crackerjack
(1994)
Ivan Getz
Dolores Claiborne
(1995)
John Mackey
Harrison Bergeron
(1995)
John Klaxon
Twelve Monkeys
(1995)
Dr. Goines
The Conspiracy of Fear
(1996)
Wakeman
The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of 'Twelve Monkeys'
(1996)
Self
The Arrow
(1997)
George Hees
Babes in Toyland
(1997)
Barnaby Crookedman (voice)
Skeletons
(1997)
Reverend Carlyle
The First Christmas
(1998)
Narrator (voice)
Winchell
(1998)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Blackheart
(1998)
Holmes
The Clown at Midnight
(1998)
Mr. Caruthers
Madeline: Lost in Paris
(1999)
Narrator (voice)
Hidden Agenda
(1999)
Ulrich Steiner
The Insider
(1999)
Mike Wallace
American Tragedy
(2000)
F. Lee Bailey
The Dinosaur Hunter
(2000)
Hump Hinton
Possessed
(2000)
Archbishop Hume
Dracula 2000
(2000)
Matthew Van Helsing
Full Disclosure
(2001)
Robert Lecker
Lucky Break
(2001)
Graham Mortimer
A Beautiful Mind
(2001)
Dr. Rosen
On Golden Pond
(2001)
Norman Thayer
Agent of Influence
(2002)
John Watkins
Ararat
(2002)
David
Nicholas Nickleby
(2002)
Ralph Nickleby
Christopher Plummer: A Man For All Stages
(2002)
Self
Night Flight
(2002)
'Flash' Harry Peters
Blizzard
(2003)
Santa Claus
Cold Creek Manor
(2003)
Mr. Massie
The Gospel of John
(2003)
Narrator (voice)
The Life Of Jesus
(2003)
Narrator
National Treasure
(2004)
John Adams Gates
Alexander
(2004)
Aristotle
Four Minutes
(2005)
Archie Mason
Our Fathers
(2005)
Cardinal Bernard Law
Must Love Dogs
(2005)
Bill
The New World
(2005)
Captain Newport
Syriana
(2005)
Dean Whiting
Nuremberg: The Nazis Facing their Crimes
(2006)
Kommentator
Eugene O’Neill: A Documentary Film
(2006)
Self
The Lake House
(2006)
Simon Wyler
Inside Man
(2006)
Arthur Case
Man in the Chair
(2007)
Flash Madden
Closing the Ring
(2007)
Jack
Already Dead
(2007)
Dr. Heller
Emotional arithmetic
(2008)
David Winters
Caesar and Cleopatra
(2009)
Caesar
The Last Station
(2009)
Leo Tolstoy
9
(2009)
#1 (voice)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
(2009)
Doctor Parnassus
Up
(2009)
Charles F. Muntz (voice)
Madeline's Christmas
(2010)
Narrator
The Tempest
(2010)
Prospero
My Dog Tulip
(2010)
J.R. Ackerley (voice)
Priest
(2011)
Monsignor Orelas
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(2011)
Henrik Vanger
Discovering Hamlet
(2011)
Self
Beginners
(2011)
Hal Fields
Barrymore
(2012)
John Barrymore
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
(2012)
(archive footage)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Hard Copy
(2012)
Kali, the Little Vampire
(2012)
Narrator (english version)
Behind the Wall: The Making of Skyrim
(2012)
Self
The Legend of Sarila
(2013)
Croolik (voice)
Titans of the Ice Age
(2013)
Narrator
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
(2013)
John Marshall Harlan
The Captains: Still Kicking
(2013)
Himself
Hector and the Search for Happiness
(2014)
Professor Coreman
Elsa & Fred
(2014)
Fred
The Forger
(2014)
Joseph Cutter
The Untold Story of The Sound of Music: A Diane Sawyer Special
(2015)
Self
Pixies
(2015)
Pixie King (voice)
Danny Collins
(2015)
Frank Grubman
Remember
(2015)
Zev Guttman
Howard Lovecraft & the Frozen Kingdom
(2016)
Dr. West (voice)
All the Money in the World
(2017)
Jean Paul Getty
The Man Who Invented Christmas
(2017)
Scrooge
Howard Lovecraft & the Undersea Kingdom
(2017)
Dr. West (voice)
The Star
(2017)
King Herod (voice)
The River of My Dreams
(2017)
Himself
The Exception
(2017)
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Boundaries
(2018)
Jack Jaconi
Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness
(2018)
Dr. Jeffrey West (voice)
Cliffs of Freedom
(2019)
Thanasi
Alan Pakula: Going for Truth
(2019)
Self
Knives Out
(2019)
Harlan Thrombey
The Last Full Measure
(2020)
Frank Pitsenbarger
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster
(2021)
Self
The Kalahari: The Flooded Desert
(2021)
Narrator (voice)
Bondarchuk. Battle
(2021)
self
Mooseltoe
(2021)
Mooseking
Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story
(2022)
Self
Heroes of the Golden Masks
(2023)
Rizzo (voice)
Production