- The legendary Hollywood actor
Christopher Plummer died on Friday. - The "Sound of Music" and "Knives Out" star's family told news outlets he died peacefully at his home.
The legendary actor Christopher Plummer died on Friday. The 91-year-old actor was in his home in Connecticut with his wife, Elaine Taylor, by his side, his family told Deadline.
Many movie fans will know Plummer for his role as Captain Georg von Trapp in the 1965 classic "The Sound of Music." In 2019, Plummer starred in Rian Johnson's hit whodunnit "Knives Out."
Plummer had a storied Hollywood career, including his starring role in 'The Sound of Music'
Plummer was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1929. He began acting in high school and studied theater at McGill University in Montreal.
After appearing in Canadian TV productions, he made his Broadway debut in 1953. He was nominated for a Tony in 1959 for his role in the play "J.B." The first major movie role he landed was in 1958's "Stage Struck."
In 1965, Plummer starred in "The Sound of Music" opposite Julie Andrews. Despite being a relatively unknown actor for the silver screen, he beat out established stars like Sean Connery and Richard Burton for the part.
His performance as Captain von Trapp, the patriarch of a large Austrian family living in 1938, has regained acclaim in recent years. On social-media platforms like Twitter and TikTok, videos and GIFs of Plummer's character ripping up a Nazi flag have become common responses to modern white-supremacist activity.
—Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) February 5, 2021
"The Sound of Music" went on to win Oscars and break box-office records, becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of all time.
Though "The Sound of Music" remains one of Hollywood's most beloved musicals, Plummer had a wry attitude about the role. In a Hollywood Reporter roundtable in 2011, Plummer said it had been his "toughest" role.
"Because it was so awful and sentimental and gooey," he said. "You had to work terribly hard to try and infuse some minuscule bit of humor into it."
"The Sound of Music" is based on the memoir by Maria von Trapp (played by Andrews), a nun turned governess who fell in love with a widowed naval captain (Plummer) and instilled a love of music in his seven children.
Andrews and Plummer acknowledged having feelings for each other on set, though they never became a real-life couple.
"We should have ended up together. We should have had a huge, smashing affair. But there was no time, because Julie had her children with her, which was most inconvenient," Plummer said in 2015, during ABC's special "The Untold Story of 'The Sound of Music.'"
Andrews told ABC that she and Plummer had remained "the best of friends" through the years.
Plummer's film and stage career continued steadily throughout the '60s and '70s. In the 1980s, Plummer starred in two Broadway productions of Shakespeare's works: He was cast opposite James Earl Jones in "Othello" and took on the title role in "Macbeth."
Millennials will also recognize Plummer's voice-acting work in the animated movies "An American Tail" (1986) and "Rock-a-Doodle" (1991).
Plummer acted on TV shows and in films into the 2000s and won an Academy Award for the 2011 movie 'Beginners'
Plummer moved toward more TV roles in the 2000s, costarring in Emmy-winning shows like "Nuremberg" and "The Moneychangers." He also appeared in more critically acclaimed movies, including 2001's "A Beautiful Mind" and 2006's "Inside Man."
In 2009, Plummer voiced Charles Muntz in the acclaimed Pixar animated movie "Up." He also costarred in David Fincher's 2011 adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."
The actor received his first Oscar nomination in 2010, when he was 80, for "The Last Station." He was up for best actor in a supporting role for his portrayal of Leo Tolstoy but lost to Christoph Waltz.
But two years later, Plummer took home an award in the same category for "Beginners." Plummer portrayed the protagonist's father, recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and newly out as a gay man.
At 82, Plummer became the oldest actor to win an Oscar.
"You're only two years older than me, darling," Plummer said to his Oscar statue while accepting the award. "Where have you been all my life?"
Plummer was nominated three times for an Academy Award and won once. He received seven total Tony Award nominations and seven total Emmy nominations, winning two of each.
Plummer's final movie and TV appearances were in 'The Last Full Measure' and 'Departure'
In 2017, Plummer made headlines when the director Ridley Scott said he would reshoot all of Kevin Spacey's scenes in "All the Money in the World" with Plummer instead. Spacey had been dropped from the project following allegations of sexual assault and harassment.
Plummer's performance in "All the Money in the World" earned him his final Oscar nomination, in 2018. Plummer was 88, making him the oldest acting nominee at an Oscars.
In 2019, Plummer starred as the murder-mystery writer Harlan Thrombey in "Knives Out." His final movie appearance was in the 2019 war movie "The Last Full Measure," and his final TV role was in the British-Canadian drama series "Departure."
Plummer is survived by Taylor, his third wife, and Amanda Plummer, his daughter from his first marriage to the actress Tammy Lee Grimes. Plummer's representatives did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.