A different kind of death scene

“I love what I do,” Plummer says. “I love that,through acting,I can disguise myself and escape the responsibility of my real life.” That’s acting,though,not movie stardom. The latter leaves Plummer cold. “Dammit,I don’t want the world to ever see me or know me as a star,” he says. “What’s so wonderful about me? That’s what I tell younger actors: I say,‘Lose yourself in the role. Don’t even show me anything about you. What’s so wonderful about you?’ ’’

Plummer,who always will be remembered as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965),has opinions,and isn’t shy about sharing them. His status as an evergreen sex symbol? During a recent appearance on Oprah,he reportedly had most of the show’s staff swooning. “Oh,please,” Plummer says with a laugh. “I’ll work on it. It will be a goal for my ’90s.”

Young actors? “Colin Farrell is one of my favourites,” he says promptly. “Russell Crowe is a marvellous screen actor. A lot of the young actors look alike. I can’t tell them apart. Don’t they all play vampires?”

Retirement? “I never want to stop acting,” Plummer says. “It keeps me feeling young. I also need the money. We all need the money these days,dammit,” he adds,laughing.

Beginners is a classic case of multiplex counter-programming,a summer film that isn’t about gigantic robots,superheroes or hangovers. Plummer plays Hal,a man in his ’70s who has lived the classic American dream with a lovely house,a beautiful wife and a handsome,devoted son (Ewan McGregor). In reality he was never in love either with his wife or with their life of respectable domesticity. Hal is gay,a fact that he reveals to his son after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He then lives out his final days with gusto,including a passionate affair with a much younger man (Goran Visnjic).

“What drew me to this role was that the character was so present and real,” Plummer says. “This is a man without any self-pity. And there was no message about being gay or being straight.”

That the film is about mortality and death didn’t bother the actor,who notes that at his age many of the scripts sent his way involve death scenes. “They always want the old guy to die miserably,” Plummer says. “But in Beginners I found that it was such a hopeful way to die. I think that’s a miracle.”

As for Visnjic,Plummer admits that he approached their love scenes with some trepidation. “Goran was wonderful,” he recalls. “He was so funny about our first kiss. He kept saying,“Oh my God,how am I going to kiss Christopher Plummer?’’

Plummer grew up in Toronto and Quebec,thinking that he would become a concert pianist. “Too much hard work. And I knew that acting is basically your whole being reacting to other people.”

In the past Plummer has sneered at The Sound of Music,reportedly deriding the sentimental musical as The Sound of Mucus. Nowadays,however,he seems to be at peace with the film. “I don’t hate that film,” he says,“but it follows me around. That’s the problem. It’s a very well-made film. But a musical is not always my cup of tea.”

“So in the end The Sound of Music hovers a little too close,” the Canadian actor says. “Then again,I’m grateful to the movie,” he concludes. “It made me well known.” Many in Hollywood were surprised to realise that Plummer’s Oscar nomination for The Last Station was his first. “It was so nice,at my advanced age,to get a nomination,” he says. “That is certainly the reason I’m getting more work now.”

For future reference,though,Plummer also wouldn’t complain if he did win an Oscar in the future. His obvious health,he says,is largely attributable to his work.

“I walk—I never run,” Plummer says. “I play tennis and work out about twice a week. That’s about it. Doing the job is what really keeps me in shape,” he adds.CINDY PEARLMAN