Christopher Plummer
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
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Christopher Plummer (born 13 December 1929; age 78) is the highly-respected veteran actor who played General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. He also reprised the role of Chang for the video game Star Trek: Klingon Academy. Perhaps Plummer's most famous film role is that of Captain Georg von Trapp in the classic 1965 musical The Sound of Music, directed by Robert Wise (who went on to direct the first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture).
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Plummer initially studied to become a concert pianist, but turned to acting during his high school years. Beginning his professional acting career on the stage as well as in radio in his hometown of Montreal, Plummer made his New York stage acting debut in 1954. Since then, he has acted in countless stage productions, particularly on Broadway and London's West End, and, in a career spanning over 50 years, he has earned seven Tony Award nominations and numerous other awards. He won his first Tony Award in 1974 for his performance in a musical adaptation of the classic tale of Cyrano de Bergerac simply called Cyrano, in which Plummer starred in the title role (a role he had previously played on television). His other theatrical credits include co-starring opposite Dame Judith Anderson in a Paris production of Medea, a Tony Award-winning performance in Broadway's Barrymore, and a Tony-nominated portrayal of King Lear at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Plummer has been just as active on film as in theater. He made his film debut in the 1958 Sidney Lumet drama Stage Struck, co-starring Star Trek: The Original Series guest actors Roger C. Carmel and John Fiedler. After his star-making turn in The Sound of Music, he appeared in such classic films as The Night of the Generals (1967), Battle of Britain (1969), Waterloo (1970), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), and The Silent Partner (1978). He is also known for his portrayal of Detective Sherlock Holmes in 1979's Murder by Decree.
Plummer went on to co-star in such contemporary hits as Somewhere in Time (1980, with Bill Erwin and Susan French), Dragnet (1987, with Juliana Donald, Bruce Gray, Jimmie F. Skaggs, and Meg Wyllie), Malcolm X (1992, co-starring Albert Hall, Tim Kelleher, James MacDonald, and Craig Wasson), Wolf (1994), Dolores Claiborne (1995, with Bob Gunton), Twelve Monkeys (1995, with Frank Gorshin), The Insider (1999, with Bruce McGill and Robert Harper), A Beautiful Mind (2001, with Josh Pais), and National Treasure (2004, with Ron Canada and Don R. McManus). He also lent his voice to a number of animated films, most notably the Don Bluth productions An American Tail (1986, also featuring the voices of Phillip Glasser and Nehemiah Persoff) and Rock-A-Doodle (1991, with Stan Ivar and Phil Morris).
His many other diverse film credits include The Fall of the Roman Empire in 1964 to co-starring with fellow Trek movie villain Malcolm McDowell in 1976's Aces High to starring opposite Star Trek: Voyager's Jeri Ryan in Dracula 2000. He has even been known to do family films, such as LeVar Burton's Blizzard (2003).
Further proving his versatility, the busy Plummer had roles in recent films ranging from the epic Alexander (2004) to the romantic comedy Must Love Dogs (2005) to the historical drama The New World (2005) to the thriller Inside Man (2006) to the romantic fantasy The Lake House (2007). In addition, Plummer co-starred with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Alexander Siddig in the 2005 political drama Syriana, in which Trek guest stars David Clennon and Robert Foxworth also appeared. More recently, Plummer starred in the acclaimed 2007 comic drama Man in the Chair, working with George Murdock.
Prior to Star Trek VI, Plummer and William Shatner co-starred together in a 1957 Omnibus production of Oedipus, the King (with Plummer in the title role) and the 1979 made-for-television movie Riel. Another Star Trek VI actor he co-starred with prior to that production was David Warner in the 1977 film The Disappearance.
Plummer also worked with Frank Overton on an episode of The Alcoa Hour and with fellow Klingon player John Colicos in the 1962 Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Cyrano de Bergerac, with Plummer starring in the title role which he would reprise for the stage in the 1970s. (Plummer later co-starred with Colicos in the 1988 movie Shadow Dancing.) Another Hallmark production Plummer appeared in, Little Moon of Alban, featured one-time TOS guest Stephen Brooks and earned Plummer his first Emmy Award nomination.
Plummer has worked with TNG guest actor Robin Gammell on at least three occasions: in the 1973 film The Pyx, the 1984 film Highpoint (with Saul Rubinek), and the 1997 TV movie The Arrow.
Additionally, Plummer has appeared in a number of TV mini-series, most notably 1976's The Moneychangers, which co-starred Joan Collins and Jon Lormer, and 1983's The Thorn Birds with Philip Anglim, Antoinette Bower, John de Lancie, Richard Kiley, Jean Simmons, and Meg Wyllie. Plummer received Emmy nominations for his performances in both of these series, winning his nomination for the former. (Plummer's other mini-series include 1977's Jesus of Nazareth and 1986's Crossings, the latter also featuring Zach Galligan, Kelsey Grammer, and Herta Ware.)
Plummer was also nominated by the Emmy Awards for his portrayal in the title role of Hamlet in a 1964 TV movie and for his performance as Cardinal Bernard Law in the 2005 TV movie Our Fathers. Plummer additionally won an Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for narrating the animated series Madeline.
Plummer recently starred in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, playing the title role. Production on this film was temporarily halted following the sudden death of Plummer's co-star, Heath Ledger. [1] Shooting on the film resumed in Vancouver, Canada, with Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law taking over Ledger's role, with Ledger's footage to be preserved in the film. [2] The film wrapped on 22 April 2008. [3]
Plummer's other upcoming projects include a mini-series with Bruce Greenwood entitled The Summit, which will premiere on Canadian television in September 2008. He is currently starring as Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy in the film adaptation of the 1990 novel, The Last Station. [4]
