With a stellar career spanning almost 70 years,Christopher Plummerhas earned his reputation as one ofthe best actors of all time; whether it’s his work in illicit dramas or in animated films,he captivates with his magnetic presence and charisma. Plummer plays many morally complex and powerful characters, from cruel villains to gritty businessmen, his roles and his career have left a lasting impact on Hollywood and cinema in general.
Potentially best known for his legendary role as Captain von Trapp inThe Sound of Music,one of the best musicals of all time, or his Academy Award-winning performance as Hal Fields inBeginners,Plummer always shows incredible depth and nuance in his abilities. Even in his later work, likeAll The Money In The World, Plummer continues to evolve and change the expectations of his characters. His filmography is filled with incredible films and brilliant roles that capture the essence of one of the most talented actors of his generation.
Syriana
Cast
A complex web of corruption and intrigue unfolds as an oil executive, a CIA operative, and a young laborer become entangled in the cutthroat world of oil politics. As global tensions rise and personal ambitions collide, their fates intertwine in a gripping exploration of power and betrayal.
In 2005, Stephen Gaghan directed the political thrillerSyriana. The film tells several different stories about the oil industry and tensions in the Middle East from the perspectives of oil owners, the media, lobbyists, lawyers, and politicians.George Clooney was the biggest name in the cast at the time,playing Bob Barnes, a veteran CIA officer trying to stop illegal arms trafficking in the Middle East. Clooney went on to win an Oscar for his performance in the movie, but this was an ensemble cast that included the great Christopher Plummer.
Plummer stars inSyrianaas Dean Whiting, the head of a Washington D.C.-based law firm hired to deal with the merger between two oil companies. However, he plays into several stories, including the Emir storyline, and was responsible for much of Clooney’s Bob Barnes storyline, as he was part of a group involved with the Prince Nasir assassination in the Middle East. On top of CLooney’s Oscar, the movie also received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
A Beautiful Mind
A Beautiful Mind is a biographical drama depicting the life of renowned mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., portrayed by Russell Crowe. Released in 2001, the film follows Nash’s groundbreaking contributions to his field and his struggle with schizophrenia, capturing his profound impact on mathematics and personal resilience.
A Beautiful Mindsaw Russell Crowe star as John Nash in this based-on-a-true-story biopic. Nash was a brilliant mathematician who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. However,A Beautiful Mindplays this close to the chest for much of the movie, as audiences are led to believe that many of the people that Nash speaks to are real, whereas the twist is that most of them only exist in Nash’s mind. Despite this, Nash remains a groundbreaking mathematician who realizes that, when it is medicated, it hurts his analytical mind.
Dr. Rosen diagnosed Nash and revealed that many of Nash’s friends were never real.
On top of Crowe, Jennifer Connelly won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as Nash’s wife Alicia, and Christopher Plummer impressed in a supporting role as well.Plummer played Dr. Rosen, the psychiatrist who helps Nashwhen he is admitted to a mental health facility after a paranoid breakdown. Dr. Rosen diagnosed Nash and revealed that many of Nash’s friends were never real.A Beautiful Mindwon four Oscars in eight nominations
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Parnassus, the leader of a traveling theater troupe, makes a bet with the Devil over who can win more souls. Parnassus troupe shows audience members their dreams and imaginative depths in a magic mirror. If, at the end, the soul chooses the difficult path of enlightenment, Parnassus wins; if they choose easy ignorance, the soul goes to the Devil.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassuswas an interesting and chaotic movie production. It was directed by Terry Gilliam and was supposed to star Heath Ledger as Tony Shepard in the film. However, Ledger died during production, and Gilliam kept him in the scenes he filmed. Then, Gilliam hired Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell to play Tony in different “transformations.” However, while Ledger and his three replacements were the stars,Plummer played the titular Doctor Parnassus.
Parnassus made a deal with the Devil (Tom Waits) hundreds of years in the past, and he has lost numerous children to the Devil as part of the deal. His newest daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), is next. The movie ended up as a cult favorite for hardcore Terry Gilliam fans and did decent at the box office, although it wasn’t a major hit. It also earned two Oscar nominations for Art Design and Costume Design.
Knives Out
When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan’s dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, there are suspects aplenty. Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan’s untimely death.
Christopher Plummer didn’t have a lead role in Rian Johnson’sKnives Out, but he played one of the most important characters.Plummer portrays bestselling author Harlan Thrombey, the man who was killed to start the mysteryand the film that Daniel Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc showed up to help solve. The suspects were all members of Thrombey’s family, and it was up to Blanc to piece together the clues and figure out what happened to the author.
While Thormbey was killed to start the story, Christopher Plummer still had a role to play as Blanc was looking back at things that happened to lead to his death. This movie was a great showcase for Johnson, and it helped start a new franchise, withGlass Onionfollowing it as a Netflix exclusive, and a third movie is on the way. Johnson earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for the film, and while Plummer was only in a small role, he was part of a great ensemble cast.
12 Monkeys
In 12 Monkeys, convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) travels back in time to learn the origin of a man-made virus that has unleashed worldwide chaos in the future. Terry Gilliam’s 1995 sci-fi movie, which boasts a cast that includes Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, Madeleine Stowe, and David Morse, is based on Chris Marker’s 1962 short film La Jetée and originated a 2013 TV series adaptation.
12 Monkeyswas a masterpiece science fiction film by former Monty Python cast member Terry Gilliam. The movie sees Bruce Willis as James Cole, a prisoner in 2035, living in a world that has become almost uninhabitable after a terrorist attack released a virus that killed most of humanity. He is then sent back in time to learn more about the “12 Monkeys,” the group the people believe caused the attack, but he overshoots his target year and ends up in 1990 instead of 1996. Here, he starts his investigation, although he ends up institutionalized as mentally ill.
Christopher Plummer stars as Dr. Leland Goines, a virologist.Goines' son Jeffrey (Brad Pitt) is an extreme environmentalist and anti-corporate man who wants to use the virus his dad developed to wipe out humanity and allow animals to take over once again. Seeing Plummer’s frustrated father dealing with Pitt’s unhinged son allowed both actors to really stretch their muscles. Pitt even earned an Oscar nomination for his role and the movie remains a cult classic.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Based on the award-winning novel by Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) as he searches for a woman who has been missing for 40 years. Along the way, he makes an unexpected ally in Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), who is a computer hacker and survivor of a traumatic childhood. The film is directed by David Fincher and won an Oscar in 2012 for Best Achievement in Film Editing.
Directed by David Fincher, adapted from the 2005 novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson,The Girl with the Dragon Tattoofollows the story of wealthy family patriarch Henrik Vanger (Plummer) who hires outcasted journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) tosolve the mystery of his niece’s mysterious disappearancefrom the family’s island decades before. The film has been praised widely for Fincher’s direction, the cast’s portrayals of the characters in the story, and the film’s sleek and stylish cinematography.
Christopher Plummer’s 5 Best Villain Roles (& 5 Best Hero Roles) Ranked By IMDb
Christopher Plummer is a big-screen icon who mastered playing villains and heroes. But what were his best heroic and villainous roles, per IMDb?
Plummer quite frankly nails his role as Henrik Vanger, portraying him with a steely, quiet intensity and a calming maturity that is lacking in many of the other characters around him. With many of Plummer’s films, he provides the grounded role that helps the narrative and supports other characters and creates a truly stunning and compelling narrative.Vagner is a role that could have been one dimensional, a wealthy, angry older man who wants answers, but Plummer’s portrayal adds layers and depth with showings of vulnerability at the continued haunting he feels for the mysterious loss of his niece.
Waterloo
Waterloo, released in 1970, depicts the historic confrontation between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington following Napoleon’s escape from Elba. The film highlights the strategic maneuvers of the Anglo Allied army as they prepare for a decisive battle against the French forces led by their charismatic leader.
Directed by Sergei Bondarchuk,Waterloois an expansive story that dramatizes the last battle of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Plummer takes on theintriguing and challenging role of the Duke of Wellington, who has to face off against Bonaparte (Rod Steiger) at the Battle of Waterloo on July 18, 2025.Waterlooshows the events in all its gruesome glory. A large-scale production with stunning visuals that see hundreds of deaths and destruction in the fight for supremacy.
10 Best War Movies Of The 1970s
Explore the best war films of the 1970s, showcasing compelling stories and brutal action, from The Deer Hunter to Apocalypse Now.
Plummer shines in a film that is made to be an epic war drama, with one ofthe best battle scenes in the history of the genre. His portrayal of Wellington is, once again, mature, poised, and intelligent, conveying the man behind the myths perfectly.The contract with Steiger’s Napoleon is a masterfully crafted juxtaposition, with one calm and controlled and the other manic and fiery. Plummer’s chemistry with everybody he shares the screen with is one of the main highlights of a high-quality cinematic masterpiece.
The Man Who Would Be King
The Man Who Would Be King is a 1975 film directed by John Huston, featuring Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Set in British India, it follows two ex-soldiers who undertake an ambitious journey to a remote region of Afghanistan with the intent of becoming kings. The film explores themes of ambition and hubris against a backdrop of adventure and cultural clash.
In a film directed by John Huston, adapted from Rudyard Kipling’s 1888 novel,The Man Who Would Be King,Plummer stars as Kipling, the journalist and narrator of the story. It tells the adventures of two rag-tag British ex-soldiers, Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan (Sean Connery and Michael Caine), who set off in 1885 from British India in the hopes of further adventure in Kafiristan. Once they arrive, Dravot is accidentally deemed a god after surviving an arrow to the chest (because of a pendant around his neck) and is taken in as the King of the area.
Plummer’s role as Kipling is arguably the most important of the film, providing the footing for the story as well as the ‘anonymous’ narration that would provide the springboard for his future voice work. Though the two leads, Connery and Caine are the stars of the film,Plummer’s supporting work is nothing short of stellar, allowing the two to shine with a nuanced performance in the background. Showing an actor with immense talent who can elevate a film even with limited screen time and other A-listers dominating the scenes.
Inside Man
Inside Man, directed by Spike Lee, follows Detective Keith Frazier as he navigates a tense hostage situation in a Manhattan bank taken over by an armed, masked gang. Amidst negotiations, Frazier also contends with personal challenges involving corruption allegations, adding complexity to the unfolding drama.
Inside Manis a 2006 crime thriller by Spike Lee depicting an elaborate yet intricate bank heist turned hostage situation in a bank on Wall Street. The film is full of twists and turns when a seemingly ‘normal’ hostage situation turns into much more as the bank robber (Clive Oven) and the bank’s owner, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), becomeembroiled in a further game of hidden secrets, lies, and discovering the contents of a special safe deposit box.
7.8/10
7.3/10
7.7/10
7.6/10
6.8/10
6.9/10
8.1/10
8.3/10
7.2/10
The Insider(1999)
The film revolves around a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game between the bank, the robbers, and the detectives trying to figure out what is happening. Plummer’s performance is perfect in the role, as he expertly portraysthe morally ambiguous banker with a charming sidewho is doing everything he can to keep his secrets safe. Even in a cast list like this one, with Clive Owen, Denzel Washington, and Jodie Foster, Plummer stands out for his multi-layered performance of a memorable characterwith an ending that stuns the audience.
All the Money in the World
Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World is a crime thriller based on the real-life kidnapping of John Paul Getty III in 1973. The film follows Getty’s mother, Gail (Michelle Williams), as she tries to convince his grandfather, the billionaire J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer, replacing Kevin Spacey), to pay the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
Based on John Pearson’s 1995 bookPainfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty, InAll The Money In The World,Plummer takes on the role of J. Paul Getty III. The story follows the events surrounding Getty III’s kidnapping in 1973 and his grandfather, the multi-billionaire oil tycoon J. Paul Getty’s absolute refusal to cooperate with the kidnapper’s demands, leading to many issues surrounding his obligation to do what he can for his grandson.
Plummer made the role his own, giving a cold, calculated, and brilliant take on a man whose moral compass seems to be broken.
This is one of Plummer’s more memorable roles for some of the wrong reasons. Kevin Spacey was initially cast as J. Paul Getty and had completed two months of filming before sexual misconduct allegations came to light, causing filming to pause and for Plummer to be recast in this main role. Plummer made the role his own,giving a cold, calculated, and brilliant takeon a man whose moral compass seems to be broken. His work in this film was universally celebrated, and he earned himself an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
