February 5th marks the third anniversary of Christopher Plummer's death at age 91, but 2024 is only the first year beyond his filmography. His final performance, a cameo in Heroes of the Golden Masks, was in post-production for additional years and finally released in June 2023. This is not uncommon with films harboring final roles. Consider another released two weeks later – Wonderwell starring Carrie Fisher, who died at the end of 2016. Most people will remember Plummer's last blockbuster Knives Out (2019) as his final film over what amounts to little more than an Easter egg in Golden Masks, but what the delay did accomplish was to round up the complete span of a film career that began in 1958 to a tidy 65 years.
Much attention was paid to Plummer taking on the role of J. Paul Getty in All The Money in the World (2017) at the last minute, but looking back one will notice that Biographical Roles and Literary Characters were long-established specialties. Add to that his decades of Documentaries (both as narrator and self), and Children's Programming (as animated characters and narrator) and you have educational curricula for truly anyone – all ages, all education levels, all interests.
Plummer left behind an ocean of work. Prolific isn't a big enough word to describe his international impact on theatre, film, television, documentaries, narration, animation, commercials, video games, and popular culture. Nor is there a satisfying way to completely convey the extraordinary range in budget and quality of his projects. This is but one of his masterclasses.
As you browse the lists below please make note of the symbols indicating the current availability of as many titles as possible. As much care was put into providing this information, as chronicling the various roles and works themselves.
- ►| Free
- A | Free with ads
- $ | Subscription, rental, or purchase
- Y | YouTube
- V | Vimeo
Biographical Roles
Theatre | Film | Television
- Mark Anthony | Julius Caesar (American Shakespeare Festival Theatre) | The Ed Sullivan Show (1955)
- Péter Zichy | The Dark is Light Enough (Broadway, 1955)
- Henry V of England | Henry V (Stratford Theatre Festival) | Carrefour (1956) | Walton: Henry V (1990) | Y
- Walt Murdoch (loosely based on Guy Bradley) | Wind Across the Everglades (1958)
- Cyrano de Bergerac | TV Movie, 1962 | Cyrano (Broadway, 1973) | Y
- Arturo Ui | Arturo Ui (Broadway, 1963)
- Commodus | The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) | $
- Captain Georg von Trapp | The Sound of Music (1965) | $
- Raymond Swan (loosely based on Irving Thalberg) | Inside Daisy Clover (1965) | $
- Francisco Pizarro | The Royal Hunt of the Sun (Broadway, 1965 - 1966)
- Field Marshal Erwin Rommel | The Night of the Generals (1967) | $
- Atahualpa | The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969) | ►
- The Duke of Wellington | Waterloo (1970) | Y
- Archduke Ferdinand | The Day That Shook the World aka Assassination in Sarajevo (1975) | $
- Rudyard Kipling | The Man Who Would Be King (1975) | ►
- Herod Antipas | Jesus of Nazareth (1977) | ► | The Star (2017) | $
- Prime Minister John A. Macdonald | Riel (1979) | Y
- Reggie Vanderbilt | Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982) | Y
- Col. Herbert Kappler | The Scarlet and the Black (1983) | ►
- Vladimir Nabokov | Nabokov on Kafka (1989) | ►
- Sir Charles (loosely based on Voltaire) | Young Catherine (1991) | $
- Alfred Stieglitz | A Marriage: Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz (1991)
- John Barrymore | Barrymore (Broadway, 1997) | Barrymore (2011) | ►
- Franklin D. Roosevelt | Winchell (1998)
- Mike Wallace | The Insider (1999) | $
- Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe | Nuremburg (2000) | Y
- F. Lee Bailey | American Tragedy (2000) | Y
- Aristotle | Alexander (2004) | $
- Archie Mason (based on Franz Stampfl) | Four Minutes (2005)
- Cardinal Bernard Francis Law | Our Fathers (2005) | Y
- Captain Newport | The New World (2005) | $
- Henry Drummond (based on Clarence Darrow) | Inherit the Wind (Broadway, 2007)
- Julius Caesar | Caesar and Cleopatra (2009) | $
- Leo Tolstoy | The Last Station (2009) | ►
- John Marshall Harlan II | Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013) | $
- Kaiser Wilhelm II | The Exception (2016) | $
- J. Paul Getty | All the Money in the World (2017) | $
- Frank Pitsenbarger (father of William H. Pitsenbarger) | The Last Full Measure (2019) | $
1 of 25
As Arturo Ui in Arturo Ui (Broadway, 1963)
2 of 25
As Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965)
3 of 25
As Oedipus in Oedipus the King (1968), with Richard Johnson
4 of 25
As Atahualpa in The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969)
5 of 25
As the Duke of Wellington in Waterloo (1970), with Jack Hawkins
6 of 25
As Cyrano de Bergerac in Cyrano (Broadway, 1973)
7 of 25
As Archduke Ferdinand in The Day That Shook the World aka Assassination in Sarajevo (1975)
8 of 25
As Rudyard Kipling in The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
9 of 25
As Herod Antipas in Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
10 of 25
As Sherlock Holmes in Murder by Decree (1979), with James Mason
11 of 25
As Iago in Othello (Broadway, 1982), with James Earl Jones
12 of 25
As Col. Herbert Kappler in The Scarlet and the Black (1983), with Gregory Peck
13 of 25
As Vladimir Nabokov in Nabokov on Kafka (1989)
14 of 25
As Sir Charles in Young Catherine (1991), with Julia Ormond
15 of 25
As John Barrymore in Barrymore (Broadway, 1997)
16 of 25
As Mike Wallace in The Insider (1999)
17 of 25
As Ralph Nickleby in Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
18 of 25
As Santa Claus in Blizzard (2003), with Kevin Pollak
19 of 25
As King Lear (Broadway, 2004)
20 of 25
As Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind (Broadway, 2007), with Brian Dennehy
21 of 25
As Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station (2009), with Helen Mirren
22 of 25
As John Marshall Harlan II in Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013), with Frank Langella
23 of 25
As Kaiser Wilhelm II in The Exception (2016)
24 of 25
As Ebenezer Scrooge in The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017), with Dan Stevens
25 of 25
As J. Paul Getty in All the Money in the World (2017)
Literary Characters
Theatre | Film | Television
- Oedipus | Oedipus the King (1968)
- Don Juan | BBC Play of the Month (1970)
- Hamlet | Hamlet at Elsinore (1964) | Y
- Sherlock Holmes | The Sunday Drama (1977) | Murder by Decree (1979) | A
- Iago | Othello (Broadway, 1982)
- Macbeth | Macbeth (Broadway, 1988)
- Barnaby Crookedman | Babes in Toyland (1997) | ►
- Matthew Van Helsing (descendant of Abraham Van Helsing) | Dracula 2000 (2000) | $
- Ralph Nickleby | Nicholas Nickleby (2002) | ►
- Santa Claus | Blizzard (2003) | ►
- King Lear | King Lear (Broadway, 2004)
- Prospero | The Tempest (2010)
- Ebenezer Scrooge | The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) | $
Documentaries
Narration
A documentary which crisscrosses the width and breadth of Canada.
An exploration of one of the art treasures in the world - Michelangelo Buonarroti's ceiling frescoes in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.
This compassionate documentary offers snapshots of a number of people living productive lives while coping with physical abnormalities.
A look at the life and work of painter James Wilson Morrice.
This is a documentary that revisits the making of Gone with the Wind with archival footage, screen tests, insightful interviews and rare film footage.
From the inner sanctum of Emperor Qin's royal palace to fierce battles with feudal kings, this lavish historical drama re-creates the glory and the terror of the Qin Dynasty.
The story behind the 1959 masterpiece.
A watch spotted in a Burmese pawn shop is identified as belonging to a Canadian Air Force crewman who went missing 50 years earlier during the Korean War.
The first-hand story of Nazi Doctor Josef Mengele and his "medical experiments" on Jewish twins in Auschwitz during World War II.
Takes the viewer on a journey through the past century, the bloodiest in history, from the perspective of children. It is an examination of the way in which modern wars have increasingly threatened and targeted children.
A story of deep commitment, bitter betrayal and humour. Wounded in the Spanish Civil War, blacklisted by Hollywood and censored by the CBC, Allan nonetheless enjoyed a remarkable career as a playwright, actor, screenwriter and novelist.
The story of Jesus' life as told by the apostle John.
Unlike most of the world's major rivers which empty into the sea, the Okavango River in Africa empties into a desert.
Over its more than 4-billion-year history, Earth has been home to repeated violent climactic changes, which have caused mass extinctions. And yet, life has survived.
The documentary of the Nuremberg War Trials of 21 Nazi dignitaries held after World War II.
The history of Hollywood film from the medium's invention to the birth of the New Hollywood in 1970.
Explore the Pleistocene through archaeological discoveries, reenactments, and CGI.
As Self
The life and career of American playwright Eugene O'Neill.
Written and directed by William Shatner, the film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed Starship captains within the illustrious science-fiction franchise.
King Lear with Christopher Plummer.
Examining Karloff's illustrious 60-year career in the entertainment industry and his enduring legacy as one of the icons of 20th century popular culture.
Animation
Characterizations (Film | Video Game)
- The Happy Prince | The Happy Prince (1974) | Y
- Henri | An American Tail (1986) | $
- Metamorphis | Gandahar (1987) | V
- Grand Duke of Owls | Rock-A-Doodle (1991) | ►
- Barnaby Crookedman | Babes in Toyland (1997) | ►
- General Chang | Star Trek: Klingon Academy (Video Game, 2000)
- Grandfather | Heidi (2005) | Y
- Charles F. Muntz | Up (2009) | $
- Charles F. Muntz | Up: The Video Game (2009)
- J.R. Ackerley | My Dog Tulip (2009) | V
- #1 | 9 (2009) | $
- Arngeir the Greybeard | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Video Game, 2011)
- Charles F. Muntz | Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure (Video Game, 2012)
- Croolik | The Legend of Sarila (2013) | ►
- Pixie King | Pixies (2015) | ►
- Dr. West | Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom (2016) | ►
- Dr. West | Howard Lovecraft & the Undersea Kingdom (2017) | ►
- Herod | The Star (2017) | $
- Dr. West | Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness (2018) | ►
- Rizzo | Heroes of the Golden Masks (2023) | $
1 of 14
As Master Arngeir the Greybeard, who teaches the Dragonborn "Let the way of the voice be your guide, and the path of wisdom will be clear to you" in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
2 of 14
As Charles F. Muntz in Up (2009)
3 of 14
As Henri the French pigeon in An American Tail (1986) singing "Never Say Never" to Fievel the Mouse
4 of 14
As the misanthropic Barnaby Crookedman in Babes in Toyland (1997) singing "A Crooked Man"
5 of 14
As Metamorphis in Gandahar (1987) – explaining the Door of Time
6 of 14
As the Grand Duke of Owls singing "We Hate the Sun" in Rock-A-Doodle (1991)
7 of 14
As #1 in Tim Burton's 9 (2009)
8 of 14
As Croolik the Shaman in The Legend of Sarila (2013)
9 of 14
As the Pixie King in Pixies (2015)
10 of 14
As Dr. West in Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom (2016). He also appears in Howard Lovecraft & the Undersea Kingdom (2017), and Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness (2018)
11 of 14
As The Happy Prince, a statue in The Happy Prince (1974)
12 of 14
As J.R. Ackerley in My Dog Tulip (2009)
13 of 14
As King Herod in The Star (2017)
14 of 14
As Rizzo in Heroes of the Golden Masks (2023)
Children's Programming (Narration)
- The Velveteen Rabbit (1985) | Y
- David the Gnome (1985) | Y
- Rumpelstiltskin (1985) | Y
- The Tin Soldier (1986) | Y
- Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker with the Philharmonia Orchestra (1986) | Y
- The Man Who Planted Trees (1987) | Y
- The Nightingale (1987) | Y
- Madeline (1988) | Y
- The Little Crooked Christmas Tree (1990) | $
- Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (1993) | $
- Madeline (1993 - 1994) | ►
- Madeline and the Magnificent Puppet Show (Video Game, 1994)
- The New Adventures of Madeline (1995) | A
- Madeline's European Adventure (Video Game, 1996)
- The First Christmas (1998) | Y
- Madeline: Lost in Paris (1999) | ►
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (2004) | Y
- Kali, the Little Vampire (2012) | Y
Learn More About Plummer
Documentaries
Autobiography (Audiobook)
Video Librarian Reviews
Read dozens of Video Librarian reviews of Plummer titles including feature films, short films, television, documentaries, and children's programming here.