christopher plummer

Christopher Plummer wins Golden Globe for gay dad role

Christopher Plummer’s performance as a gay father in the film Beginners has won him a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor in a motion picture.

Opposite on-screen son Ewan McGregor, he plays a father who comes out after his wife’s death.

Plummer is often remembered for his role as Captain von Trapp, head of the von Trapp family in the 1965 musical The Sound of Music, in which he played a slightly more reserved widower.

At the ceremony last night, Plummer thanked McGregor in his speech, saying: “I want to salute my partner, Ewan, that wily Scott [...] That scene-stealing swine.”

Backstage, Plummer, who is married to actress Elaine Taylor told reporters: “Gay characters are human beings. we’re all exactly the same. That’s the reason I played it the way I did, not as a caricature.

“They’re a part of our society since the Egyptians, the Greeks – it’s part of the human condition. I know there is a lot of anti-gay sentiment in our society at the moment and I abhor it.”

The actor has won two Emmys, two Tonys, and one previous Golden Globe.

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Golden Globes: “The Artist,” “The Descendants” win top awards

George Clooney of "The Descendants" poses with the trophy for best actor in a motion picture, drama at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 15, 2012.

(Credit:Getty)

(CBS/AP) BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Updated 11:19 p.m. ET

The black-and-white silent film “The Artist” came away with the most prizes with three wins at the Golden Globes, during a ceremony that spread the love around among a broad range of films and TV shows.

Wins for “The Artist” included best musical or comedy and best actor in a musical or comedy for Jean Dujardin, while the family drama “The Descendants” claimed two awards, as best drama and dramatic actor for George Clooney.

Other acting winners were Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, and Octavia Spencer, while Martin Scorsese earned the directing honor.

Pictures: Golden Globes red carpetPictures: Highlights from the ceremonyPictures: Stars in the press roomSpecial section: 2012 Golden Globe Awards

Streep won for dramatic actress as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady,” her eighth win at the Globes.

Dujardin won for musical or comedy actor for the silent film “The Artist.” Williams won for actress in a musical or comedy as Marilyn Monroe in “My Week with Marilyn,” 52 years after Monroe’s win for the same prize at the Globes.

The supporting-acting Globes went to Plummer as an elderly widower who comes out as gay in the father-son drama “Beginners” and Spencer as a brassy housekeeper joining other black maids to share stories about life with their white employers in the 1960s Deep South tale “The Help.”

“With regard to domestics in this country, now and then, I think Dr. King said it best: ‘All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance.’ And I thank you for recognizing that with our film,” Spencer said while accepting her award.

Scorsese was named best director for his Paris adventure “Hugo.” The award was the third directing Globe in the last 10 years for Scorsese, who previously won for “Gangs of New York” and “The Departed” and received the show’s Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement two years ago.

He won over a field of contenders that included “The Artist” director Michel Hazanavicius, who had been considered by many in Hollywood as a favorite.

Williams offered thanks for giving her the same award Monroe once won and joked that her young daughter put up with bedtime stories for six months spoken in Monroe’s voice.

“I consider myself a mother first and an actress second, so the person I most want to thank is my daughter, my little girl, whose bravery and exuberance is the example I take with me in my work and my life,” the actress said.

Dujardin became the first star in a silent film to earn a major Hollywood prize since the early days of film. He won as a silent-era star whose career unravels amid the rise of talking pictures in the late 1920s.

“The Artist,” which led the Globes with six nominations, also won the musical-score prize for composer Ludovic Bource but lost out on three other awards, including the screenplay prize for Hazanavicius.

Woody Allen won the screenplay honor for his romantic fantasy “Midnight in Paris,” the filmmaker’s biggest hit in decades. never a fan of movie awards, Allen was a no-show at the Globes, where he previously won the screenplay honor for 1985′s “The Purple Rose of Cairo.

The wins boost Williams, Spencer and Plummer’s prospects for slots at next month’s Academy Awards, whose nominations come out Jan. 24.

The prize for best animated film went to Steven Spielberg’s action tale “The Adventures of Tintin,” and the Iranian drama “A Separation” was chosen as best foreign-language film, besting Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey.”

Madonna, Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry won the Globe for best song for “Masterpiece” from the King Edward-Wallis Simpson drama “W.E.”, which Madonna also directed.

Television awards went to “Homeland” for best drama series (and its star Claire Danes, as best dramatic actress), “Modern Family” for best comedy, Jessica Lange as supporting actress for “American Horror Story,” Peter Dinklage as supporting actor for “Game of Thrones,” Matt LeBlanc as comedic actor for “Episodes,” Laura Dern as comedic actress for “Episodes” and Kelsey Grammer as dramatic actor for “Boss.” Kate Winslet and Idris Elba won as best actress and actor in a TV miniseries or movie, for “Mildred Pierce” and “Luther,” respectively, while British drama “Downton Abbey” won as best TV miniseries.

Ricky Gervais, who ruffled feathers at past shows with sharp wisecracks aimed at Hollywood’s elite and the Globes show itself, returned as host for the third-straight year. He started with some slams at the Globes as Hollywood’s second-biggest film ceremony, after the Oscars.

The British comedian joked that the Globes “are just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem. The Globes are to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton. A bit louder, a bit trashier, a bit drunker and more easily bought. Allegedly. Nothing’s been proved.”

He also needled early winners, saying the show was running long and stars needed to keep their speeches short.

“You don’t need to thank everyone you’ve ever met or members of your family, who have done nothing,” Gervais said. “Just the main two. your agent and God.”

Sunday’s ceremony, televised live from the Beverly Hilton, was a big night for both drama and comedy. alongside the standard heavyweight dramas, the category for best musical or comedy at the Globes usually is more of a lark, with nominees rarely emerging with best-picture prospects for Hollywood’s top prize, the Academy Awards.

Yet Sunday’s musical or comedy contenders made up a strong bunch that could give their best-drama cousins at the Globes a run for their money, come Oscar time. with the Oscars choosing up to 10 best-picture contenders, “The Artist” could have some other comic company there. Globe musical or comedy nominees “Midnight in Paris” and “Bridesmaids” also have solid Oscar nomination prospects.

Most years, the musical or comedy category is filled with nominees that have little or no chance at the Oscars, such as last year’s Globe nominees “The Tourist” and “Burlesque.” The last time a musical or comedy Globe winner earned the best-picture Oscar was nine years ago, when “Chicago” triumphed at both shows.

This year, the dual categories at the Globes could create an Oscar showdown between the dramatic and musical-comedy winners.

Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of 89 entertainment reporters for overseas outlets, the Globes used to have a strong record predicting the films that would go on to win best-picture at the Oscars. But lately, a best-picture win at the Globes has not translated into victory on Oscar night.

Over the last seven years, only one Globe best-picture winner – 2008′s “Slumdog Millionaire” – has gone on to claim the top Oscar trophy. before that stretch, the Globes had been on an eight-year streak in which one of its two best-picture recipients also won the main prize at the Academy Awards.

Read more: Golden Globes by the numbers

Last year, “The Social Network” won best-drama at the Globes and looked like the early Oscar favorite. But momentum later swung to eventual Oscar best-picture winner “The King’s Speech.” The year before, “Avatar” was named best drama at the Globes, while “The Hurt Locker” took best picture at the Oscars.

The Globes have a better track record predicting who will win Oscars for acting. A year ago, all four actors who won Oscars earned Globes first – lead players Colin Firth for “The King’s Speech” and Natalie Portman for “Black Swan” and “The Fighter” supporting stars Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.

Christopher Plummer on Dragon Tattoo, Beginners Luck and Laughing Off Oscar – Movieline

One week removed from his 82nd birthday, Christopher Plummer is winding up what one could arguably call a career year. and it’s been a long career — more than half a century’s worth of stage and screen roles comprising such milestones as the Sound of Music, the Man Who Would be King, the Insider and the last Station, the latter of which earned the Canadian legend his first-ever Academy Award nomination. but as the curtain closes on a memorable 2011 — most notably his acclaimed stage adaptation Barrymore, his awards-worthy performance in Beginners and this week’s blockbuster hopeful the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — you’d be hard-pressed to find a time when Plummer wasn’t more beloved.

Of course Plummer has always been in demand, averaging around four roles per year since breaking in on stage and TV in the early 1950s. His ubiquity is itself among Plummer’s most renowned attributes, culminating today in his role as Tattoo’s Henrik Vanger; as the wealthy head of a secretive Swedish clan in search of his niece, Vanger enlists disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist (Daniel Craig) to help crack the decades-old case. meanwhile, Plummer continues to make the rounds on behalf of Beginners, the Mike Mills film co-starring Ewan McGregor as an adrift 30-something coming to grips with a dying father (Plummer) — who is himself coming to grips with his late-life admission of homosexuality.

That role has found Plummer nominated for numerous awards this fall and has most observers predicting his eventual Oscar supremacy — not that he takes any of that too seriously. First things first, he intimated last week in a conversation with Movieline.

How is everything going today?

Yesterday, too. It’s fine — I enjoy it, but one after the other…

I hear you.

And yesterday I started forgetting people’s names. I certainly got kind of gaga. We did 51 people yesterday.

51? Individually?

[Nods] well, they were quick interviews. and then you start forgetting your friends’ names. I was calling Rooney “David.”

The resemblance is striking.

I’m totally gaga. I feel a little better today.

I’ll go easy. I was actually going to ask if there’s one thing about this film that you haven’t been asked but wish you had — or maybe something that came to you afterward?

I must say, they have been pretty general. not bad, not bad. They didn’t stick to just the one thing. If you do start opening it up or changing the subject, that could go on for hours. and you suddenly get terribly excited because you’ve changed the subject. the interview becomes something else altogether. but I’m happy with whatever you ask!

Has talking with David and the others over the last few days opened up any new perceptions about the film?

Yes, well, I’ve just seen the movie — and I’ve seen it twice — and I realize that it’s much more emotional than the book. and I love the book — I couldn’t put it down. but the first book is much more emotional on the screen, I find. and because it’s her, this sort of avenging angel has been invented for this story. she comes from another planet. It’s just extraordinary what Rooney does, and what David has set her up to do, and how courageous. and that has stuck with me. It’s a great cast, and I enjoyed working with all of them, but the girl really knocked me out.

What planet would you say she comes from? What are its life forms like — what’s the terrain?

It’s a life form that would actually do us proud if it invaded. it certainly doesn’t come from Pluto. [Laughs] I don’t know where it would come from. I use the word very loosely — planet — but it’s not of this Earth. and then suddenly, she is. and suddenly he shoots her in a very soft light — a very surprising soft light, as she’s looking at her computer. There’s a such an innocence and beauty about the face that all of the sudden knocks you out. it surprises the hell out of you. and he uses that lighting on her so cleverly after some really harsh, rather unpleasant attitude. to see her transform? the audience wants to absolutely embrace her. She’s got that — the girl has got that. herself. Rooney has got that. So I’m totally in love with that character now. She’s seduced me! Evil bitch. [Laughs]

And you didn’t even get a scene with her! though I guess she’s there in the room near the end.

No. She’s in that [scene], and she was very much in the background. she stayed in character: she didn’t speak very much, except for one night. We had a long conversation, which was a lot of fun. She’s great fun. but she’s shy. She’s terribly well-brought-up. She’s got such lovely manners, which is a relief nowadays in the young. but she’s very reserved and very modest about her gifts. but by God, she burns up the screen in that character.

Is there anything you can tell a young actor in that situation — one in which the spotlight is about to perhaps swallow them?

I wouldn’t presume to give “advice.” Maybe to some struggling young actor, I might have some advice — like, “For Christ’s sake, don’t take yourself so seriously. Remember that you’ve got to have fun in this business; otherwise, get out — fast.” because it can be rough. If you don’t see the funny side of it, forget it. That’s what I would give a youngster. I don’t have to say anything to her. She’s too intelligent. She’s the type of person who might give up the entire profession tomorrow and be quite intelligent about it and quite revealing about it — and then tackle something else equally well. but I don’t think so; I think she’s going to go on. and after a taste of all this — after it all dies down, and after all the accolades — I think she’s going to be a serious actress. I don’t have to say a word to her.

Speaking of having fun, I was struck by the camaraderie shared by you and David and Stellan earlier in today’s press conferences. On a set like this one, where you’re making such a serious film, does that heighten the imperative to lighten things up?

We had a great time. [Fincher] just continues that kind of spiel he does; he’s very funny. and we all need it. After a very gloomy morning doing… Larsson… [Laughs] doing Larsson!

That great Scandinavian master!

After that, we all need to joke and kill ourselves laughing. “All right! Let’s do 30 takes just for fun!” and he responds to that, because we’re all, hopefully, pros. We’re like doctors after a very serious operation — we have to joke about it in kind of a black way just to keep our sanity. and also warm ourselves up from the freezing Scandinavian cold.

The film does look cold.

It’s beautifully cold. It’s wonderfully cold. did David say anything to you about making the music sound like ice?

He didn’t!

That was a lovely line. I only saw it recently, and I thought the score was extraordinary! I thought the sound underneath the film was some of the best background music and noises I’ve ever heard on a film, and it was so right — that terrible, endless, relentless pulse under every single scene that keeps you uneasy and on the edge of your seat. I didn’t feel that it was two hours and 37 minutes. and he said, “Yes, we talked about keeping it cold — keeping the music cold, like freezing ice. What does ice sound like musically?” I said, “Whales?” he said, “No.” [Laughs]

The original book is fairly polarizing. you don’t get a lot of people who say, “Yeah, you know, the Larsson’s all right.” some people hate the novel. What would you say to those readers in the hopes of them giving this film a chance?

Well, I mean, first of all, you can’t just tell people to go to something. There are a lot of people, particularly in America, who will be very offended. All the evangelists? It’s not their kind of movie. but if I had to defend it — and I certainly don’t have to defend it; it’s a marvelous movie — I would tell them that it’s a very important movie in the sense that it makes clear how disgusting violence toward women is, and that an avenging angel must come along and do something about it. We all must do something about it. There’s nothing cheap about the movie. the horrific scenes are laid down honestly as scenes of violence, and that’s it. he has enormous taste as a director. he doesn’t sensationalize them in any way. They’re documented — boom. and then he does the very clever thing of taking you away in the middle of a horrific rape scene, shows you something else, and then comes back. he doesn’t stay with it like some violent, hungry director might want to do. he gives you a rest from it, and then sort of prepares you for another onslaught. I thought the way he handled that was in absolutely great taste. and some people ask, “Well, what’s ‘great taste’?” and I go, “Bugger off.” [Laughs]

But there will be people who can’t take that sort of violence, and there will be those who will walk out. but there will be lots more who want to see it, because everyone has morbid curiosity of that kind. and what they will then see is a story of the two leads and their relationship and this extraordinary creature from outer Earth who has invaded us in an honest and very heartbreaking way. Follow her line, and she’ll take you through in a very lovely way.

In both this film and Beginners, your characters are seen in advanced stages of infirmity — oxygen tubes, wheelchairs and direct confrontations with mortality. What, if anything, rubs off on you when you see yourself as those characters onscreen?

First of all, I always try to get a part in which I don’t die. or where I’m not ill. and then people say, “Well, he’s over 80, for Christ’s sake. he must be half-dead!”

Happy belated birthday, by the way.

Thank you!

Maybe stop playing Tolstoy?

That’s right! Another death! Jesus Christ. no — I tried to make Hal [Plummer's character in Beginners] happy. I really tried to make him so grateful and happy that he would come out of the closet and was now free to love this guy, and he could tell the world and there was nothing to be ashamed of. I thought that was a nice way to go to your death– to die happy and grateful. There’s nothing morbid about it. and what’s beautiful about Michael Mills’s script is that there’s absolutely nothing sentimental about it. There is no self-pity whatsoever. So that helped enormously to begin with. and the other one? [Dragon Tattoo's Henrik Vanger] doesn’t die, though I guess he does, because he ain’t in the second or third version. but you don’t see him die. at least you didn’t see him die!

Maybe he lives just long enough to have his answer.

Yes. Swedes actually live a long time — if they don’t commit suicide early on.

Of course. Now I’m going to put you on the spot, but what do you think is your most underrated performance or film?

God. [Pauses] I don’t know. It’s so much easier to talk about somebody else’s performances rather than one’s own. I don’t think I deserve to be overrated for a lot of films, so underrated is kind of a comfortable sort of slot to find yourself in. I think a little bit more credit could have been given to Mike Wallace in the Insider, but I think that was a matter of categories. Somebody came in whose performance went from Day one until the end of the movie — they never left the camera — and yet they call themselves a Supporting Actor. [Laughs] I don’t understand some of those categories. quite clearly that was a Best Actor nomination, and I think my slot was then pushed to the right and sent flying. I only have fun talking about it because I think it’s hysterical, and the guy was a friend of mine.

And now you’re back in the awards mix — congratulations on your recent nominations, by the way.

Thank you.

How seriously do you take it all today?

I don’t take it seriously at all. you can’t. It’s terribly nice to be rewarded. everybody asks, “What’s your reaction?” well, of course my reaction is, “It’s lovely! It’s great to be recognized — by your peers, particularly. It’s lovely.” but the nominations really are the honor. Somebody’s got to win, but I don’t know. you don’t go around thinking, “Oh my God!” like if you’re 16 and making your professional debut in a film, you don’t say, “Well, of course this is going to be an Oscar-worthy performance.” If we thought about that, then we would never get anything done. [Laughs] it would be a preoccupation that would drive us to suicide! Back to Stockholm again!

Some people finance their own awards campaigns, as though that’s all they’re in it for.

[Sighs] no, sir. I’m too cynical — and old — to let that worry me anymore. It’s just very nice.

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