Why Christopher Plummer is So Great

"Unless you can surround yourself with as many beautiful things as you can afford, I don't think life has very much meaning."

     Classy. Attractive. Talented. Was probably the narrator for almost every childhood television show and film you ever watched. He's also one of the best actors ever. One of his trademarks as an actor is his rich and smooth voice. If you every see any of his performances, or watch any interviews, I think anyone would notice and appreciate how articulate his is and effective at reaching his audience. Working as an actor, he strived to appeal to his audiences' emotions.

     That's Christopher Plummer. Another amazing Canadian actor who was born in Toronto as the great-grandson of former Canadian Prime Minister Sir John Abbott, and raised in Quebec. He trained to be a concert pianist then assumed that acting was easier, and changed careers. In his twenties he apprenticed with the Canadian Repertory Company, and in three years alone played over 75 roles. That's a lot of memorizing. Now he's 83, and his career is still as busy as ever.

     Working as both a film and stage actor, you may have seen and heard him in shows and movies such as Up, International Velvet, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Lock Up Your Daughters, A Beautiful Mind, National Treasure, Caesar and Cleopatra, The Tempest, The Sound of Music, The Return of the Pink Panther, and the narrator for Madeline, and L'homme qui plantait des arbres.
He's also played Othello and Macbeth on Broadway, King Lear, Richard the Fifth, and has acted in many plays with the National Theatre in London, England, The Royal Shakespeare Company, and in the Stratford Festival in England.
Of course, these are only a small sampling of what he's done over his lifetime.

     He usually performs once a year in Stratford, Ontario. I highly recommend going to see one of his shows. Sometimes he does a meet and greet too. He also occasionally shows up at the yearly Toronto International Film Festival.

(Why he prefers playing evil characters) "The devil is more interesting than God."

     Talking about Julie Andrews, his co-actor in The Sound of Music: "Working with her is like being hit over the head with a Valentine's card."


The only reason Christopher Plummer agreed to do The Sound of Music was to prepare for a musical version of Cyrano de Bergerac. He didn't realize the impact that The Sound of Music would have on the world even now. Therefore whenever someone mentions this movie to him, or asks him to sing a song, apparently he gets really grouchy. I kind of get where he's coming from. Being part of one of the greatest family films ever (in my opinion) is really rough. You know, all the interviews, and fans and everything.