5 Things You Don't Know About Beginners' Christopher Plummer

USMagazine, Friday, February 24, 2012, 4:30pm (PST)

He charmed film audiences in The Beginners as Hal, an aging man determined to live his last years out and proud, and now the Academy is feting Christopher Plummer as a Best Supporting Actor nominee at the 84th annual show.

As he prepares to face off against Kenneth Branagh, Jonah Hill, Nick Nolte and Max von Sydow this weekend, Us Weekly rounds up five need-to-know details about the 82-year-old Canadian-born actor.

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1. The screen legend has already snagged two Emmys, two Tonys, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, but a win at Sunday's Oscars would be his first. Nominated in 2010 for his work in The Last Station, Plummer was frustrated it took so long to get noticed by the Academy. "Well, I said it's about time! I mean, I'm 80 years old, for God's sake," he seethed. "Have mercy."

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2. Best known as Captain Georg Ludwig von Trapp in 1965's The Sound of Music, Plummer was never really a fan of his character in the first place. "I was a bit bored with the character," the actor admitted in 2009. "Although we worked hard enough to make him interesting, it was a bit like flogging a dead horse. And the subject matter is not mine. I mean, it can't appeal to every person in the world."

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3. Continuing to work into his 80s, Plummer is confident his best projects are yet to come. "There's not that many old actors. They all died," he's said. "I'm one of the last men standing! I think there's maybe four of us. I hope the other b--ches die first."

4. He has Drew Barrymore's grandfather, John, to thank for his five decades-long film career. Soaking up Gene Fowler's tome about the acting legend, "Good Night, Sweet Prince," Plummer was inspired to get in the game. "I thought that if this guy could look that good and be that good on the stage and still be a drunk, God love him!" Plummer told the web site MovieMorlocks.com. "That was my idea of absolute heaven. To be able to drink, act, look handsome…and get girls!"

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5. Plummer comes from Canadian political royalty. Born in 1929 in Toronto, Plummer's great grandfather is Canadian Prime Minister Sir John Abbot, who served as the nation's third PM from 1891 to 1892.

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