It was in Montreal, his hometown, that Plummer began his professional career in both French and English. Since his New York stage debut in 1954, he went on to star in many celebrated productions on Broadway and London's West End. He was also a leading actor at England's National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company and Canada's Stratford Festival. His last Broadway appearance was in the award-winning Barrymore; he has toured in Barrymore throughout North America. Plummer has written for the stage, television and the concert hall. In 1986, he was inducted into Theatre's Hall of Fame.

A veteran of more than 80 motion pictures, his films include such diverse titles as the Oscar-winning The Sound of Music, The Man Who Would Be King, Waterloo, The Pink Panther, Silent Partner, Battle of Britain, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Murder by Decree, Somewhere in Time, Star Trek VI, Dragnet, Wolf, Dolores Claiborne and 12 Monkeys.

Plummer's most recent successes are his portrayals of TV journalist Mike Wallace in the critically acclaimed The Insider, and of F. Lee Bailey in the NBC telefilm American Tragedy. He played in Peter Cattaneo's Lucky Break.

Apart from numerous honors from the UK, USA, Austria and Canada, Plummer has won two Tony Awards, two Emmy Awards, Britain's Evening Standard Award, Canada's Genie Award, and many nominations. He was named an Honorary Doctor of Arts by New York's Juilliard School and in 1968, sanctioned by Queen Elizabeth, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, his country's highest honor. In November, 2001, he received the prestigious Governor General's Award for his lifetime achievement in the arts.

Filmography

• The Koi Keeper (2007)
• My Dog Tulip (2008)
• 9 (2007)
• Emotional Arithmetic (2007)
• Already Dead (2007)
• Closing the Ring (2007)
• Man in the Chair (2007)
• The Lake House (2006)
• Inside Man (2006)
• The New World (2005
• A Beautiful Mind (2005)
• Syriana (2005)
• Four Minutes (2005)
• Must Love Dogs (2005)
• Our Fathers (2005)
• Tma (2005)
• Alexander (2004)
• National Treasure (2004)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
• Cold Creek Manor (2003)
• The Visual Bible: Gospel of John (2003)
• Blizzard (2003)
• "Odd Job Jack" (1 episode)
• Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
• Agent of Influence (2002)
• Ararat (2002)
• Night Flight (2002)
• A Beautiful Mind (2001)
• Lucky Break (2001)
• On Golden Pond (2001)
• Leo's Journey (2001)
• Full Disclosure (2001)
• Dracula 2000 (2000)
• American Tragedy (2000)
• Possessed (2000)
• The Dinosaur Hunter (2000)
• Nuremberg (2000)
• Star Trek: Klingon Academy (2000)
• The Insider (1999)
• Madeline: Lost in Paris (1999)
• Winchell (1998)
• Hidden Agenda (1998)
• Blackheart (1998)
• The First Christmas (1998)
• The Clown at Midnight (1998)
• The Arrow (1997)
• Babes in Toyland (1997)
• We the Jury (1996)
• Skeletons (1996)
• The Conspiracy of Fear (1996)
• Twelve Monkeys (1995)
• Harrison Bergeron (1995)
• Dolores Claiborne (1995)
• Wolf (1994)
• Crackerjack (1994)
• A Stranger in the Mirror (1993)
• "Madeline" (1993)
• "Counterstrike" (43 episodes, 1990-1993)
• The Little Crooked Christmas Tree (1993)
• Malcolm X (1992)
• Impolite (1992)
• Secrets (1992)
• Liar's Edge (1992)
• "Berlin Lady" (1991)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
• Rock-A-Doodle (1991)
• A Marriage: Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz (1991)
• Money (1991)
• Young Catherine (1991)
• Firehead (1991)
• The First Circle (1991)
• A Ghost in Monte Carlo (1990)
• Where the Heart Is (1990)
• Red Blooded American Girl (1990)
• Souvenir (1989)
• Kingsgate (1989)
• Nabokov on Kafka (1989)
• Mindfield (1989)
• Nosferatu a Venezia (1988)
• Gandahar (1988)
• Shadow Dancing (1988)
• A Hazard of Hearts (1987)
• "The Cosby Show" (1 episode, 1987)
• Dragnet (1987)
• I Love N.Y. (1987)
• Homme qui plantait des arbres, L' (1987)
• An American Tail (1986)
• The Boss' Wife (1986)
• "Crossings" (1986)
• The Boy in Blue (1986)
• "Spearfield's Daughter" (1986)
• "David el gnomo" (1985)
• The Velveteen Rabbit (1985)
• Rumpelstiltskin (1985)
• Lily in Love (1984)
• Dreamscape (1984)
• Ordeal by Innocence (1984)
• Prototype (1983)
• "The Thorn Birds" (1983)
• The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
• Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982)
• Highpoint (1982)
• The Amateur (1981)
• Dial M for Murder (1981)
• Eyewitness (1981)
• When the Circus Came to Town (1981)
• The Shadow Box (1980)
• Desperate Voyage (1980)
• Somewhere in Time (1980)
• Hanover Street (1979)
• Riel (1979)
• Murder by Decree (1979)
• Starcrash (1979)
• The Silent Partner (1978)
• International Velvet (1978)
• Silver Blaze (1977)
• The Disappearance (1977)
• Uppdraget (1977)
• "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977)
• "Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers" (1976)
• Aces High (1976)
• The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
• Sarajevski atentat (1975)
• Conduct Unbecoming (1975)
• The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
• The Spiral Staircase (1975)
• After the Fall (1974)
• The Happy Prince (1974)
• The Pyx (1973)
• "Play of the Month" (1 episode, 1971)
• Waterloo (1970)
• The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969)
• Battle of Britain (1969)
• Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969)
• The Secret of Michelangelo (1968)
• Nobody Runs Forever (1968)
• Oedipus the King (1967)
• The Night of the Generals (1967)
• Triple Cross (1966)
• Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
• The Sound of Music (1965)
• Hamlet (1964)
• The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
• "Hallmark Hall of Fame" (6 episodes, 1958-1962)
• "Playdate" (1961)
• "The DuPont Show of the Month" (2 episodes, 1957-1961)
• The Philadelphia Story (1959)
• A Doll's House (1959)
• Wind Across the Everglades (1958)
• Stage Struck (1958)
• "The Alcoa Hour" (1 episode, 1956)
• "Appointment with Adventure" (1 episode, 1956)
• "General Electric Theater" (1 episode, 1956)
• "Producers' Showcase" (1 episode, 1955)
• "Kraft Television Theatre" (1 episode, 1955)
• "Kraft Television Theatre" (1 episode, 1954)
• "The Web" (1 episode, 1954)
• "Broadway Television Theatre" (1 episode, 1953)
• "Suspense" (1 episode, 1953)
• "Studio One" (1 episode, 1953)

Awards

• National Board of Review Award Career Achievement 2002
• Boston Society of Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actor "The Insider" 1999
• L.A. Ovation Award Leading Actor in a Play "Barrymore" 1999
• Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor "The Insider" 1999
• National Society of Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actor "The Insider" 1999
• Joseph Jefferson Award Actor in a Principal Role--Touring "Barrymore" 1997
• Outer Critics Circle Award Actor in a Play "Barrymore" 1997
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play "Barrymore" 1996 - 97
• Tony Actor in Play "Barrymore" 1996
• Emmy Outstanding Voice-Over Performance "Madeline" 1993 - 94
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play "Othello" 1982
• Genie Best Actor "Murder by Decree" 1980
• Emmy Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series "The Moneychangers" 1976 - 77
• Outer Critics Circle Award Actor in a Musical "Cyrano" 1974
• Tony Actor (Musical) "Cyrano" 1974
• Drama Desk Award Outstanding Performance "Cyrano" 1973
• Evening Standard Award Best Actor "Becket" 1961
• Theatre World Award "The Dark Is Light Enough" 1955