FILE - In this July 25, 2013, file photo, Christopher Plummer, a cast member in the HBO film "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight," poses for a portrait at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Plummer is among âThe Sound of Musicâ cast members celebrating the filmâs 50th anniversary in March 2015. The Rogers & Hammerstein classic is also facilitating another honor for the actor: the TCM Classic Film Festivalâs celebration of the musical will include Plummer adding his hands and feet to the collection of superstar cement prints outside Hollywoodâs Chinese Theatre on March 27, 2015. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - While Christopher Plummer is famously no great fan of his role in "The Sound of Music," he's thrilled to participate in the film's 50th anniversary celebration this month, which includes a special honor for the 85-year-old Oscar winner: Adding his hand and footprints to the cement collection at Hollywood's Chinese Theatre.
"I love that idea," said Plummer, who is set to leave his prints on March 27 as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival. "When I was happy enough to get the Oscar, I (thought) oh, I think I should get this too, really. But I won't say anything. And then it happened! It's great. I don't care that it's the end of my life. It's a refreshing thing to have happen when you're getting on."
Not that the actor has slowed at all with age. He plays a manager to Al Pacino's aging rock star in next month's "Danny Collins" and shares the screen with John Travolta in the crime thriller "The Forger."
"They're not all boring, old men dying," Plummer said of his latest roles. "Even though I am kind of 85 now, I think I can pass for late 60s, 70, so maybe there's a few more years yet. I'd love to play a dashing young thing, though, who jumps in and out of Rolls Royces, who has a huge wardrobe that I could take home afterward."
Among the directors he'd still like to work with? Wes Anderson and Steven Spielberg.
A professional actor for almost 60 years, Plummer originally wanted to be a concert pianist but switched courses when he realized what a lonely occupation that would be. Acting, he said, "is much more gregarious."
His career is as he expected it would be, and he loves the work as much now as he ever did.
"I adore the profession," he said. "In acting, you go all over the world, you're paid for it and you stay there so you get to know the country and the people, because they're working alongside you, so it's a huge learning experience...
"That part of filmmaking is divine, and of course I'm crazy about the theater. I've been in it all my life, and I don't think there's anything that replaces the feeling of a live audience."
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at www.twitter.com/APSandy .
FILE - In this July 25, 2013, file photo, Christopher Plummer, a cast member in the HBO film "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight," poses for a portrait at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Plummer is among âThe Sound of Musicâ cast members celebrating the filmâs 50th anniversary in March 2015. The Rogers & Hammerstein classic is also facilitating another honor for the actor: the TCM Classic Film Festivalâs celebration of the musical will include Plummer adding his hands and feet to the collection of superstar cement prints outside Hollywoodâs Chinese Theatre on March 27, 2015. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this April 25, 2001 file photo, Julie Andrews, center, is joined by Christopher Plummer, left, her co-star from the film "The Sound of Music," and the film's director, Robert Wise, during a reception for the event where Andrews received the ELLA award in Beverly Hills, Calif. The 1965 Oscar-winning film adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2015. To honor the milestone, 20th Century Fox is releasing a five-disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD collector's edition, the soundtrack is being re-released, the film will be screened at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood later this month and to over 500 movie theaters in April 2015. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)
The Associated Press
This photo provided by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment shows, from left, Chairmian Carr, as Liesl, Nicholas Hammond, as Friedrich, Heather Menzies, as Louisa, Duane Chase, as Kurt, Angela Cartwright, as Brigitta, Debbie Turner, as Marta, Kym Karath, as Gretl, and Christopher Plummer, as Captain Von Trapp, in a scene from the film, "The Sound of Music." The 1965 Oscar-winning film adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2015. To honor the milestone, 20th Century Fox is releasing a five-disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD collector's edition, the soundtrack is being re-released, the film will be screened at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood later this month and to over 500 movie theaters in April. (AP Photo/Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment)
The Associated Press
This image released by Bleecker Street Media shows Al Pacino, left, and Christopher Plummer in a scene from the film "Danny Collins." (AP Photo/Bleecker Street Media, Hopper Stone)
The Associated Press