Alex Carson
Christopher Plummer is a Canadian actor with a prolific career spanning over seven decades. He made his film debut in the 1958 movie Star Struck. Just a decade shy of turning 100, many fans are surprised to learn that he gets no intention of slowing down his acting career.
Christopher Plummer was born on December 13th, 1929, to John Orme Plummer and Isabella Mary. His parents separated after his birth, and he was raised by his mother. He fell in love with acting when he was quite young, and became involved in theatre while attending high school. In one interview, he mentioned that the first time his father saw him in person was while he was onstage. However, he seems to harbor no bitterness towards his father, and described him as a sweet and charming man.
The Film Stars Skyrocket
In many cases, film stars skyrocket into fame at a young age, and then burn out as they grow older. For Christopher Plummer, however, his acting career has been a steady climb. While he played many rich and acclaimed roles during the earlier years of his career, his roles seem to be growing all the more steadily the older he gets. Despite his age, Plummer is quite happy working as an actor, and he doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.
For some celebrities, acting is both physically and emotionally exhausting. The film industry is extremely competitive, and actors work very hard. As a result, many older actors find that they simply don’t have the energy to keep up in the film industry any longer. To Christopher Plummer, though, acting is a lifelong passion that he couldn’t dream of giving up, and he has mentioned in several interviews that he plans on continuing to act until he dies.
At this point in his career, you might expect Plummer to become sentimental and reflective, but he claims he doesn’t even have the time to consider his legacy. After all, he still feels he has a lot more work to accomplish. Turning 90 hasn’t stopped Plummer from being his old lively self, and his energy is seemingly endless.
Because Christopher Plummer is too busy to reflect on his legacy, in today’s video, we’re going to do it for him. He’s not as young as he once was, and he sadly doesn’t have the time to accomplish everything he ever wanted to do. Make sure you stick around to find out the one role that Christopher Plummer regrets turning down the most!
He Is the Oldest Person to Win an Acting Oscar
During the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, Christopher Plummer won the Best Supporting Actor Award. He played the role of Hal Fields in the 2012 film Beginners, a romantic-comedy drama starring Ewan McGregor. Christopher Plummer did a spectacular job portraying an openly gay man, who comes out to his son after the death of his wife. The premise of the film inspires by writer and director Mike Mills’ personal life experience. When Mike Mills’ mother died, his father came out as gay. This film is about embracing familial relationships, as well as appreciating love in every form.
Christopher Plummer felt honored to finally receive an Academy Award, something many people viewed as long overdue. Years later, when he is 88, he nominates for Best Supporting Actor for his role in All the Money in the World. While he didn’t win this nomination, he breaks the record for the oldest person to nominate for an acting Academy Award.
He Doesn’t Believe He’s Having a Renaissance
Any Christopher Plummer fan will try to make the argument that his career is experiencing a renaissance. In 2019 alone, he was either filming or appearing in three different movies; Knives Out, The Last Full Measure, and Cliffs of Freedom. At the same time, he was also playing a recurring role in the popular TV series Departure. But this surge in roles, according to Christopher Plummer, has nothing to do with a renaissance.
In one interview, Plummer explained that he has always felt his life in theatre to be very rich and fulfilling. He never feels as though he is experiencing a dip in his career, because he gets roles onstage or in film. While he hadn’t been appearing in as many feature films for a time, he was still busy acting in the theatre, and to Plummer, that’s what truly counts.
He’s Had a Long Romantic History with Another Film Star
Most Hollywood relationships are tumultuous, passionate, and short-lived. For Christopher Plummer and Elaine Taylor, however, that is absolutely not the case. Christopher Plummer married the lovely English actress in 1970, and the two have been together ever since. In fact, on October 2nd, 2020, they celebrated their 50 year anniversary together.
Elaine Taylor experienced the height of her career in the 60s and 70s, when she starred in many comedy films. While she’s since retired from acting, she has just as much energy as her loving husband. Plummer also explained that she has always been very supportive of his career. Christopher Plummer has remarked on several occasions that he feels guilty for marrying her, as he thinks “she could have married a duke or a prince.” Considering they’ve spent all these decades together, it’s probably safe to say that Elaine Taylor enjoys his company just as much as he enjoys hers.
He Regrets Rejecting the Role of Gandalf
Sir Ian McKellan’s role as Gandalf in the legendary Lord of the Rings trilogy is nothing short of iconic. However, did you know that Christopher Plummer was originally offered the role? Christopher Plummer admitted that the rejection of the role is one of the biggest regrets he has about his career.
However, this wouldn’t be the first or last time that Plummer turned down a high-profile role. He has a long history of declining roles in blockbuster films, often choosing instead to act in lower profile movies that appealed to him more.
Another reason why he turned down the role of Gandalf is a bit more obvious. Older actors have to be a bit more choosy about the roles they pick, especially if that role is expected to be a long commitment. Ultimately, Plummer decided he wanted to experiment with other roles later in his life, and he didn’t want to feel tied down by such a beast of a movie franchise.
Turning down the role of Gandalf isn’t Plummer’s only regret, though. Make sure you stick around until the very end of the video, where we’ll reveal one career path Christopher Plummer wishes he would have followed. And, if you’re enjoying this video so far, please take a moment to like the video and subscribe to our channel for more!
The Sound of Music Is a Sensitive Subject for Him
While most of Christopher Plummer’s well-known roles have occurred later in his career, the role that most people remember him for is as Baron von Trapp in The Sound of Music. However, Christopher Plummer has few fond memories of this role, and he hates to be reminded of it. In fact, most interviewers know to steer clear of the subject entirely!
Christopher Plummer found the character of Baron von Trapp to be incredibly boring, and he’d much rather be remembered for more interesting roles that required more acting skill. Even though The Sound of Music is the third top grossing film of all time, it’s a sore subject for the actor, who’s grown quite tired of hearing about it. While Plummer does admit that the film was well-made, he described it as not being his cup of tea. He even skipped out on the 40th anniversary cast reunion, although he was kind enough to show up for the 45th anniversary.
The filming process was also a bit difficult for Plummer at times. He almost left the movie when producers discussed possibly dubbing his singing voice. He gave his best attempt at singing “Edelweiss,” however, and the crew was satisfied with his performance.
Christopher Has No Intentions of Retiring
Many interviewers are keen to ask Christopher Plummer when he plans on retiring, to which he always responds the same way: “Never.” In an interview with Parade, he said, “No, [I’ll] never retire. Don’t want to. There’s too many wonderful things to do.” Even though his wife, Elaine Taylor, has long since retired from her acting career, she completely understands why he doesn’t want to.
Plummer also described himself as being “insatiably ambitious.” Despite finally winning an Academy Award, he’d love to go for more nominations. We can only imagine what he might accomplish during the later years of his career!
He Always Wanted to Play Piano
Christopher Plummer’s greatest regret is that he never pursued his love of piano. While he does play the instrument in his free time, he wishes he could have made a career of it. In one interview, he explained, “I always wanted to be a pianist. And I did study, but there’s no time. I should have done that one 500 years ago. I would have loved to have shared both professions equally, you know.”
Even though it’s a bit too late for Plummer to become a professional pianist, he will always be remembered for his amazing skill as an actor.
Were you more surprised to learn about his long marriage to Elaine Taylor, or about his dislike of the film The Sound of Music? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to Facts Verse for more!
