Christopher Plummer Says He Immediately Loved the ‘Irreverent Darkness’ in Knives Out – Parade

All the Money in the World and Beginners starChristopher Plummer, 89, joins an all-star ensemble cast (including Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson,LaKeith Stanfield and Toni Collette) in the comedy-whodunit Knives Out (in theaters November 27). Plummer plays a renowned crime novelist, Harlan Thrombey, the patriarch of a dysfunctional family in which everyones a suspect after his highly suspicious death.

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What kind of father do you think Harlan was for someone in his family to murder him?

I think he was stern, bright and rough-hewn. He couldnt stand that ghastly family of his. And he had a diabolical sense of humor.

Was it fun on the set with so many great co-stars?

We all laughed a lot. And when you get a cast like that, it makes for more competition, and suddenly youre really on your toes. You have to be. And thats healthy.

What did you think when you first read the script for Knives Out?

I loved it immediately. I loved its irreverent darkness, and when it was finally done, I thought [director] Rian Johnson really made it move from one scene to the other beautifully. It was a very difficult thing to do, and he did it marvelously.

Rian really made a little masterpiece. I think it is great. Great cast. We were all spoiled rotten. In fact, I dont think any of us ever thought that we would get the reception that we got in Toronto [at the Toronto International Film Festival] when it first showed. I understand that subsequently, as well, that audiences like it very much. They laugh a lot. Its screamingly funny, I think.

In addition to this being a whodunit, its also a commentary on class, so there is a serious element to it as well. Would you agree?

Yes, I do, very much. But it mercifully isnt preachy. Its treated beautifully and with a light touch, so it doesnt emerge as a lecture.

Are you a fan of whodunits? Any favorites?

I read a hell of a lot of Agatha Christie and all of Arthur Conan Doyle. They havent been my main source of entertainment in reading, but, yes, I love a great mystery. Theyre good mental puzzles too. And thats why I loved [Knives Out], because it sent that venue up. Rian really made affectionate fun out of it.

Was there a resurgence in your career when you took over the role in All the Money in the World from Kevin Spacey?

No, because I had already been in a couple of wonderful films, The Last Station, Beginners,played Tolstoy and all of that. No, it was still on that level, but it just goes on in that vein, and I think thats terrific. Im thrilled.

Is it true that you only ever took one acting class and that the theater was your training ground?

Yes, thats absolutely true. I took things like fencing. I loved fencing, so I did a lot of that when I was younger. All those things preparing you for the classical theater. No, I was very lucky. I went to work professionally when I was 18, and I did not look back. I did not have a year of starvation like most people go through in the theater. I went on and on. I played in the theater in London as well as on Broadway. I was back and forth; London, Broadway, London, Broadway.

Originally you had thought about being a musician.

I loved the piano, and I grew up listening to all the greats and actually going to see them in concert. I was 14 when I saw Rachmaninoff play the piano. Can you believe that? And, of course, he became my entire hero, because he was such an incredibly great pianist as well as being not a half bad composer. I now play by ear. I can play some of the concertos by ear. Thank God I had an ear and got me out of the piano, because I thought, What an incredibly lonely job it is to be a soloist. You travel all over the world, but you never see anybody because youre always playing the frigging piano. At least in our profession, we play to the audience. We are all together. Its very lonely. My cousin, Janina Fialkowska, is a wonderful woman pianist. She plays all over the world. Shes doing what I thought I would like to do, and she does it beautifully. But she is so exhausted because one day youre in Moscow, and then the next day youre in Cincinnati. The travel is dreadfully exhausting. So, yeah, I did want to be a pianist, and then I realized it was much too hard work, so I was happy with acting.

Do you know whats next?

Ive actually got three projects in the making. I cant tell you what they are because I dont believe in that. But theyre all different. I love doing different, looking different and behaving differently. I love doing all that, so Im looking forward to tackling them. Theyre all movies.

Would you ever think about retiring?

No, of course not. First of all, I cant afford to retire, quite simply, and I dont want to. Actually, Ive done more interesting stuff in the last five or six years than Ive done all my life in the theater. I dont feel old. Im in good shape because I go to the gym and I do all the right things, play tennis and walk. No, never retire. Dont want to. Theres too many wonderful things to do.

When you look back, do you have a role that you want to be remembered for? Not that other people want to remember you for, but that you like?

I think that the Hamlet I did at the BBC wasnt too bad. And I loved the Arturo Ui play by [Bertolt] Brecht, which I did on Broadway. I think nobody recognized me in that part, which pleased me to no end. Those two, I think. King Lear, Ive had some success with that. Cyrano de Bergerac, I mean, thats a gift.

Ive heard you arent fond ofThe Sound of Music, but I know people love you from it. Have you gotten used to the fact that that may be what people remember you for?

Oh, God. I hope not just that, you know? The Sound of Music I did when I was asked by Robert Wise to come and join the group. And I thought yeah, because I [wanted] to do a musical of Cyrano de Bergerac. Id never done a musical in my life, and Rodgers and Hammerstein were pretty marvelous creatures and good company to be in. So I thought what a perfect way of trying it out, because I dont even sing in the shower.

So I did. Both Julie [Andrews] and I never knew that it was going to be a huge success like that. We didnt. We had a small inkling that it might have some attention, but my God. And, of course, it saved 20th Century Fox from total bankruptcy, so it did some good. I just didnt like my role. I found it terribly boring. I love Julie, great friends. Robert Wise, a class act. And Austria, theres nothing wrong with that country. My God, how beautiful is that? I had a wonderful time, but I just loathed the role. I hope Im remembered for a few other things.

If you could go back and give advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Stay as sober as you possibly can.

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Christopher Plummer Says He Immediately Loved the 'Irreverent Darkness' in Knives Out - Parade

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero