Christopher Plummer Is Dead, The Star Trek and Sound of Music Actor Was 91
Christopher Plummer has passed away. Here is our memorial to the titan of acting.
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Christopher Plummer has passed away at the age of 91. The celebrated actor leaves behind the kind of legacy that many actors can only dream of cultivating. With a resume that spans nearly seventy years, there are countless roles that fans of the actor can look to in order to memorialize this one-of-a-kind talent.
Many folks will immediately associate Christopher Plummer with his pivotal performance in The Sound of Music alongside Julie Andrews. His original performance of the memorable song “Edelweiss” was dubbed over, but you can watch his performance with his actual voice in the video below. It is one of the most haunting and beautiful songs in the history of movie musicals, and it takes on a new weight now that he has passed away.
However, many of Giant Freakin Robot’s readers will better know Christopher Plummer for his unforgettable performance as Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Plummer played the Klingon adversary as a highly educated and eloquent figure, quoting Shakespeare and giving a new kind of menace to the long-standing foes of Captain James Kirk. It is worth arguing that Chang gave viewers a brand new viewpoint on the Klingons and there is no doubt that he has gone down as one of the best antagonists in any Star Trek film.
But, that is not all Christopher Plummer was renowned for. He lent his talents to a number of stage plays and became renowned for being one of the best actors ever to tackle the works of William Shakespeare. Clearly, that skill came in handy when he did take on the role of Chang. He also was a prolific voice actor, giving his all in movies like Rock-A-Doodle and 9. Although the films themselves might not have maintained strong reputations over the years, Plummer never looked down his nose at these roles and brought all of his expertise to them.
And he continued to be a powerful film presence well into the golden years of his life. Christopher Plummer would show up in such enjoyable films as Inside Man, Knives Out, National Treasure, and even proved his impeccable skill when he had to replace Kevin Spacey in the Ridley Scott film All the Money in the World. There was no way to pigeonhole him into any particular role. The only thing you could count on from a Christopher Plummer performance was that he would always treat it with the same professionalism and gravitas that he brought to every role he ever played.
The world of acting is a darker place now that Christopher Plummer has left. Thankfully, there are so many wonderful performances to revisit and discover in his filmography. From the antagonistic detective in Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne to the Emperor of the universe in the cheesily excellent Star Wars ripoff Starcrash, there is no end to the delightful performances Christopher Plummer leaves behind. His legacy will outshine us all and we are lucky to have lived in a time when we got to watch one of the greatest actors of the art form ply his trade for our entertainment.
