The actor, 81, on having to leave Canada, picking his nose, and thinking he'd been sired by a dog
A dog is my earliest memory. It was a huge, oversized Airedale that my family had. It stood by my baby carriage. I thought the dog was looking after me. I thought I had been sired by that dog.
I had a whole family of dogs at home a few years ago. When the youngest died young, at 11, the father, an old golden retriever, went slightly bonkers. It was grief. We were part of a pack, my wife and I ? and we were on the lowest rung.
Doing animation is as close as we get to doing radio nowadays. I miss radio, because we used to do such fantastic stuff. It challenged the imagination even more than theatre does because you didn't see anything. You had freedom of choice as an audience. It inspired the audience.
My worst habit is picking my nose. Even though I have read a lot about elegance and style and I have tried to dress well, I find myself picking my nose now and again. I do it automatically and it's absolutely awful. Sometimes I get caught, usually following some sort of pompous pronouncement I have just made.
I relax by playing piano. At one point I wanted to be a serious pianist, but it was really too much like hard work.
I play tennis. I do all sorts of things still, despite my great age. I am in pretty good shape.
I grew up in French Canada. So I saw a lot of the great French actors who came over from France. I was very, very influenced by them.
Canadians are lucky because they have had the influence of two great nations: Great Britain and America. So when it comes to the arts and life they can take the best from both. Because, in a slight way, Canadians are chameleons sandwiched between two great powers. Or once-great powers.
I had to leave Canada. We all had to leave in order to get to know the world and because the goddamn winters are so long. Canadians live in absolute petrified fear of winter. That's the humbling thing about being Canadian: it's the frigging weather.
My sort of religion is one of romance. I think the arts are the best thing to hang on to. Arts and science. I can't join the rest of the world in the religions because they have become so bigoted and so dangerous. I just don't believe in them.
I have never been a huge fan of flying. It's scary and boring; not two of my most favourite emotions. But I love travelling, so I have flown many times ? and started long before jets arrived. I don't know how we used to do it when it was 14 hours to London from New York. Oh my God, we just got drunk.
I am doing better work now than I've ever done. I am extremely happy about that.
There are only about five really old actors left. Casting directors say: "Oh God, we've done the last three ? we'd better get Plummer before he croaks." But I don't care. At least I have work and a job I love doing. I am having a great life.
Christopher Plummer stars in the film My Dog Tulip, which is out now
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/may/08/this-much-know-christopher-plummer
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