Plummer leaves behind an immense and extraordinary body of work. He appeared in roughly 120 movies (in addition to making numerous TV and stage appearances) over the course of his 60-plus-year career; along the way, he earned an Academy Award, two Emmys, two Tonys, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In honor of Plummer’s passing, let’s take a look at just 10 of his most iconic and critically acclaimed onscreen performances.
Christopher Plummer’s best roles
The Sound of Music (1965)
Plummer’s most memorable performance came early in his career, as The Sound of Music was, amazingly, only his fourth feature-film credit. Just as unbelievable? Portraying Austrian naval officer Georg von Trapp opposite Julie Andrews was far for a dream role for Plummer; for years, he disparaged the film in interviews, claiming, “That damn movie follows me around like an albatross.”
The Day That Shook the World (1975)
This film is about the 1914 assassination of Austria’s Archduke Ferdinand—whom Plummer plays in the movie—which was considered the historical precursor to the outbreak of World War I.
The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
Plummer went toe to toe with two other major marquee stars of the 1970s, Sean Connery and Michael Caine, for this adventure film based on Rudyard Kipling’s 1888 novella of the same name. Plummer’s part was based on the novella’s anonymous narrator, and thus given Kipling’s name.
The Thorn Birds (1983)
One of the most popular (and melodramatic) TV miniseries of all time starred Plummer in a supporting role as an archbishop who offers counsel to his friend Ralph de Bricassart (Richard Chamberlain), an ambitious priest with a verboten attraction to a much younger woman (Rachel Ward). Plummer received an Emmy nomination for his performance.
The Last Station (2009)
In another historical role, Plummer portrayed famous Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy in this biographical drama, with Helen Mirren playing opposite him as Tolstoy’s wife, Sophia. The movie tells the true story of Sophia’s battle to hold onto her husband’s literary legacy in the last year of his life—and earned Plummer his first-ever Oscar nomination.
Must Love Dogs (2005)
Plummer didn’t only do dramas! In this popular rom-com, he played divorcée Diane Lane’s dad, who has a memorable run-in with his daughter’s love interest, John Cusack.
Syriana (2005)
Plummer joined an all-star cast that included George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Peet and William Hurt for this taut, critically acclaimed thriller about political nefariousness in Big Oil.
Beginners (2010)
Proving that good things come to those who wait, Plummer finally won an Oscar at the ripe, old age of 82 for his supporting role as a widower who comes out as gay following his wife’s death. In fact, his performance won him pretty much every major acting award that year, including a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe, a National Board of Review Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
All the Money in the World (2017)
In an amazing acting feat, Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey as real-life oil tycoon J. Paul Getty in director Ridley Scott’s crime thriller after sexual assault allegations against Spacey came to light—and after the movie had finished shooting. Plummer re-created Spacey’s entire performance in just nine days, ultimately earning his third and final Academy Award nomination.
Knives Out (2019)
One of Plummer’s most commercially successful movies was also one of his last. This hugely entertaining whodunit (with an all-star cast that includes Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ana de Armas, Daniel Craig, Toni Collette and Don Johnson) centers around Plummer’s acclaimed mystery-novelist character, Harlan Thrombey, whose death is more complicated than it first seems. Next, find out what Dustin Diamond’s Saved By the Bell costars said about his death.
