Christopher Plummer is no longer. His family confirmed the news. The three-time Oscar nominee, and one-time winner, died peacefully at his home in Connecticut alongside his wife Elaine Taylor. What a loss.
Even at 90 years of age, the Montreal actor gave us that strong performance in “Knives Out” just over two years ago. Of course, like fine wine, his acting talents got better with age. His artistic peak has got to be his savage take on Mike Wallace in “The Insider” (’99). He even won an Oscar at 81 years old for his quirky gay dad in “Beginners.” Another late-career highlight was his J. Paul Getty in “All The Money in the World. Also, the Holocaust mystery-thriller “Remember” remains an underseen gem.
Previous highlights “The Man Who Would Be King,” “Dolores Claiborne,” “A Beautiful Mind,” and “The New World.” About the latter, and working with director Terrence Malick, Plummer complained about the experience, saying Malick got too lost looking at butterflies while he recited a monologue.” Hilarious.
Of course, every obituary today will be mentioning his work in “The Sound of Music,” maybe the worst movie to ever win the Best picture Oscar. That movie has somehow lasted and stayed current for now 6 decades. A puzzling occurrence, but Plummer did reap the benefits of its popularity to himself build a 60+ year acting career in the industry.
He was 91 years old
We love Caleb Landry Jones over here, one of the most fearless actors working today, and pairing him with Aster feels like a match made in a very specific, very anxious heaven.