Sunday, December 4, 2011

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER ON BEING CAPTAIN VON TRAPP

 

Picture shows:Left to right:NICHOLAS HAMMOND as Friedrich, KYM KARATH as Gretl, ANGELA CARTWRIGHT as Brigitta, JULIE ANDREWS as Maria, CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER as Capt. Von Trapp, CHARMAIN CARR as Liesl, HEATHER MENZIES as Louisa, DUANE CHASE as Kurt and DEBBIE TURNER as Marta. © 20th CENTURY FOX. *** THIS IMAGE IS STRICTLY EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL 00.01 ON DECEMBER 4, 2004. *** BBC One, Wednesday, 29th December, 2004. Maria (JULIE ANDREWS) arrives to discover she's merely the latest in a long line of governesses the children have scared away, but she quickly wins them over. She teaches them to sing and dance through the hills and to find joy in life's many small and wonderful offerings...raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens among them. Their love of singing brings them together, and Maria, a breath of fresh air, is immediately welcomed into the family. Warning: Use of this copyright image is subject to Terms of Use of BBC Digital Picture Service.  In particular, this image may only be used during the publicity period for the purpose of publicising the showing of 'THE SOUND OF MUSIC' on BBC Television and provided © 20th CENTURY FOX is credited. Any use of this image on the internet or for any other purpose whatsoever, including advertising or other commercial uses, requires the prior written approval of © 20th CENTURY FOX.

Asked about his most challenging role to date, Christopher Plummer gave a surprising answer.

“I think the part in 'The Sound of Music' was the toughest,” the actor said during The Hollywood Reporter’s exclusive actors roundtable interview.

Joined by fellow award contenders George Clooney, Albert Brooks, Gary Oldman, Christoph Waltz and Nick Nolte, Plummer offered his thoughts, expertise and experience with the craft. The actor, now approaching 82 years of age, has played King Lear, American journalist Mike Wallace, Russian writer Leo Tolstoy and most recently, an elderly gay man who comes out late in life in "Beginners." Yet it was his turn as Captain von Trapp in the 1965 musical that was the most difficult to perform.

“Because it was so awful and sentimental and gooey,” he explained with a laugh. “You had to work terribly hard to try and infuse some miniscule bit of humour into it.”

The Robert Wise-directed film, which also starred Julie Andrews, went on to become an iconic piece of work. At the time of release,Plummer was 36 years old.

Watch the video below and for more from THR’s actors roundtable, click here.

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