Christopher Plummer on working with Elia Kazan (Part 1 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on director Elia Kazan's methods.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on working with Amelia Hall (Part 2 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on actress and director Amelia "Milly" Hall.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on what makes a star (Part 3 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on keeping them guessing and His tips on what makes a star.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
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Christopher Plummer on what it means to be Canadian (Part 4 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on being shaped by a country, our neighbours, and our parent countries.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel.
Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Tyrone Guthrie's home (Part 5 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on Tyrone Guthrie's home in Ireland.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Tyrone Guthrie as director (Part 6 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on working with and learning from Tyrone Guthrie.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Tyrone Guthrie and Shakespeare (Part 7 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on Guthrie's reinvention of Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Fyodor Komisarjevsky (Part 8 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on working with an innovative Russian director.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on stillness vs. bravura (Part 9 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on stillness vs. bravura.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on productions of Coriolanus (Part 10 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on backroom dealings about the English and German versions of Coriolanus.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Ottawa Repertory Theatre (Part 11 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on the first English language theatre in Canada, eventually the Canadian Repertory Theatre.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Jonathan Miller's Lear (Part 12 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on Jonathan Miller's King Lear.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Michael Langham (Part 13 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on Michael Langham's success at taking over from Tyrone Guthrie.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on method vs. classical acting (Part 14 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on the hilarious relationship between Method Acting ( Stanislavski ) and Classical Acting as they came to coexist in the 1930-50s.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Close Captioned
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Method Acting vs Classical Acting
I may be speaking from my own experience
as a little bit of Presbyterian ness
that somehow entered
I think North American actor
I see joined panache in French acting
some British acting
maybe no German acting but in North
American and Canadian acting there's a
bit a presbytery ness
I would not do that I
yes well of courses that's what broke
through in the thirties (Method Acting)
when the group here in New York, Hit the scene
Jason Robards my old friend
used to call them that whole group
you know Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro and
Al Pacino. He called it "Italian Street
acting"
he says Well lets do a little bit of "Italian street acting" now
It was a real divide and I
remember
in the early days on Broadway
when you went to rehearsal
in the early fifties people like Catherine Cornell
Who I was in two plays with
I mean, you went to rehearsal in a shirt and tie.
and a coat. It was the polite thing to
do
everybody was mister. The stage manager
called you mister plumber
no matter how larger or smaller part you
played
there was courtesy about the theatre in those
days
you'd go for go for a drink down at the bar
you mix with the Italian Street actors
as we called them
all the Method actor boys, who came to rehearsals in t-shirts &
torn jeans. It was a wonderful mix in
those days because it's just happened
it just started to happen we all hated each other. We'd say lets beat them
They'd say lets beat those Limey Poofs
Wearing their shirt and ties
And they are speaking properly
Who want to speak properly?
They love language too. Hey what are you doing, Come talk to me. What are you doing now?
They have a love of the language.
Of course, their language.
in a different way but it
is still a love of the language
Oh yeah. I suddenly thought
How great it would be to do both
and if you could mix the two together
Use what the Method Acting boys are using
and the technique of the British what a
wonderful
mix that would be
Did you? Have you?
Yes.
20 like that on the partner I collapse
you could do that and then transferred
into good speech
there was a if it was a classic ripped
deserve attention speech it's a
different kind a particular miss them
when you talk about the British
tradition coming through there's a power
in their articulate see a
image there in the street language which
is
also powerful colorful there is a Connor
articulate miss
their was not marked there's not much
image because they created with
physicality that Bay their physical
way back to it creates the image that
the words
in shakespeare for instance or I'm do it
for you don't have to
actor March better just say that because
their server
you can't do both on one on top of the
other
and that's what so many modern
productions church for today
a lot of the kids think that you have to
act our age thing if you just look for
you just let the speech do it for you
don't have to move a muscle
just bather remove the speech make it as
real as you can I'm
in contemporary terms obey the room
and it creates the whole world for you
Including mention of the "Italian Street actors:" De Niro, Brando, and Pacino.
Christopher Plummer on mentor Eleanor Stuart (Part 15 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on actress Eleanor Stuart, voice and acting coach to the biggest names in Canada.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on making Shakespeare accessible (Part 16 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on a transition from poetry to prose.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on learning to act (Part 17 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on Acting Talents Born Through Shyness.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on King Lear (Part 18 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on the performance and evolution of the character of King Lear.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on keeping his career going (Part 19 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on continuing to act and looking towards the future.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on instinctive acting (Part 20 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on the instinctive nature of acting.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Herbert Whittaker's role (Part 21 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on Canadian theatre critic, designer, and director Herbert Whittaker, the founder of Theatre Museum Canada.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on how to play classics (Part 22 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on thinking like a rebel--not letting the grand ideas or characters in Shakespeare's work become so large that you are in awe of them.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on how to keep Shakespeare relevant (Part 23 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on Shakespeare's continued relevance-- a man who truly understood the human condition.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on how Shakespeare can work (Part 24 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on how Shakespeare can work for TV.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on how language has changed (Part 25 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on changes in how we perform due to changes in the language itself.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on his great grandfather (Part 26 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on his great-grandfather Sir John Abbot and raising money for the Canadian railway.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on crossing over to film (Part 27 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on transitioning from theatre to film.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Henry V at Stratford, 1956 (Part 28 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on Henry V in 1956 at the Stratford Festival, directed by Michael Langham.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Glenn Gould (Part 29 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on his impressions of pianist Glenn Gould.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Guthrie and Langham (Part 30 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on two very different theatre styles--Guthrie and Langham.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on five and nine (Part 31 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on the evolution of theatre makeup.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on his first Stratford experiences (Part 32 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on working under the tent in 1956 and then the completed building in 1957.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on fight director Paddy Crean (Part 33 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on working with fight director Paddy Crean.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on fellow Montreal actors (Part 34 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on four highly influential actors/directors and their various plays and radio shows.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on the early days in Montreal (Part 35 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on Montreal in the 1940s and the night club scene.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on dealing with critics (Part 36 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on learning from the good critics and ignoring the lesser ones.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Cyrano de Bergerac (Part 37 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on the various nuances of the text in English and French.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on coming from privilege (Part 38 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on a round-about journey--entering the theatre world from a rebellious albeit privileged beginning.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on Canadian audiences (Part 39 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on education, a vast country, and Quebec.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on breaking down boundaries (Part 40 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on breaking down artistic boundaries.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on a speech in King Lear (Part 41 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on balancing sentimentality and harshness.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer's advice for young actors (Part 42 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on advice for new actors -- go back to the theatre to learn and keep learning.
- Acting Advice from Christopher Plummer
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on adjusting his style (Part 43 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on changing the use of language.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.
Christopher Plummer on acquiring techniques (Part 44 of 44)
Christopher Plummer on appreciating the power of the text.
Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on October 6, 2007 in Toronto. Filming location courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel. Generously supported by The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation.