January
4The Sounds of Egomania
Many actors have written memoirs, but few bother to tell the truth. Usually a star’s memoir consists of basking in the glow of their ego. Plus they’re also badly written, with a few major exceptions (read David Niven’s).So I’d like to praise Christopher Plummer for indulging in some truth-telling in his new memoir, “In Spite of Myself.” The Canadian-born Plummer has had more than his share of hits in London and Broadway, but in a moment of greed, he decided to take the lead opposite Julie Andrews in the film version of “The Sound of Music.” The mushy movie, directed by Robert Wise, turned out to be the biggest hit of its time, but Plummer did everything he could to annoy his director and fellow actors. His bad boy antics became the stuff of legend.
How does Plummer deal with this in his memoir? Here’s his confessional: “I was a pampered arrogant young bastard, spoiled by too many great theater roles. Ludicrous though it may seem, I still harbored the old fashioned stage actor’s snobbism toward moviemaking. The moment we arrived in Austria to shoot the exteriors I was determined to prove that I was doing the picture under duress, that it had been forced upon me that I certainly deserved better. My behavior was unconscionable.”
His words would certainly fit the behavior of many other stars on many other pictures. But few had the guts to admit it.
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I heartily agree with you, Mr. Bart. It does take guts to admit past mistakes and behavior.
Posted by: mikehebert | 1/14/2009 4:01:53 PM