On February 5, 2021, the world lost an incredible and well-loved actor, Christopher Plummer. He began his acting career as early as 1952, going on to be in tons of different theatre, television, and movie roles. He was probably most known for his portrayal of Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, but he had over 100 movie role credits alone. He was born in Canad,a but the roles he portrayed not only took him all over the world, but put him in households everywhere. Many people, celebrities or otherwise, paid tribute to Plummer after the announcement of his passing and remembered some of his most iconic performances.
Beyond being a talented actor of stage and screen, Christopher Plummer also lent his voice to a few video game characters. Most of these roles were continuations from his television or movie characters, so it’s nice for the games to have that kind of continuity. Plummer didn’t do a lot of voice acting for video games, but the ones he did complete are worth mentioning and remembering.
Star Trek: Klingon Academy’s General Chang
Christopher Plummer’s General Chang made his debut in Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country. In the movie, General Chang is a Klingon chief of staff who arrests James Kirk and Leonard McCoy for the death of Chancellor Gorkon. He’s also got a penchant for quoting William Shakespeare. It’s reported that Plummer initially had some reservations about taking on the role of General Chang, but he received high praise for his role and line delivery regardless.
Plummer reprises his role of General Chang in the video game, Star Trek: Klingon Academy. The game is a successor to Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and is instead played from the perspective of the Klingon Empire. The 3D flight simulator was released in 2000 and features Chang in a prominent role, as he is the one who created the Elite Command Academy that players enroll in. The game also takes place prior to the events of the movie and explains General Chang’s missing eye.
Up’s Charles Muntz
Not to be confused with Disney Pixar’s film Up, the movie got a game of the same name. Depending on the console players used, though, they could be in for a very different story than that of the film. Charles Muntz, the movie’s antagonist, was voiced by Christopher Plummer and he reprises the role for the video game. Muntz’s role in the video game is similar to the movie, though how often players encountered him depended on the console they played on.
Charles Muntz serves as a foil to the protagonist of Up, Carl Fredericksen. He was once a man of renown, inspiring Carl and his late wife Ellie in their youth. Eventually, Muntz’s pursuit of Kevin turned his spirited personality into obsession, even leading to him implying he killed two explorers before meeting Carl and Russell. With Carl seeing how Muntz’s life turned out by not letting go of the past, he realizes what he could have become.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim’s Arngeir
The only role not originated from a movie, Christopher Plummer voiced The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim’s Arngeir. He is a Greybeard instructor and mentor, and one of the few who can talk to the player character, the Dragonborn. He’s essentially the spokesperson for the Greybeards because of this. Players can find Arngeir in High Hrothgar either meditating, sleeping, or in the courtyard.
Players can lose the ability to talk to Arngeir depending on how they proceed with the “Paarthurnax” quest. If they choose to kill the dragon, Arngeir will be angry beyond repair, and say that the death of Paarthurnax is unforgivable. However, players can stay in good standing with the Greybeards if they decide to spare Paathurnax’s life and keep him alive. All main entries in The Elder Scrolls franchise tend to have positive reviews, but Plummer’s voice can only be found in Skyrim.
Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure’s Charles Muntz
Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure is a platform video game made specifically for Xbox’s Kinect motion-detection system. Similar to Kinect: Disneyland Adventures, this game takes players and their families through 8 (or 9, with the 2017 remaster to include Finding Dory) different Pixar worlds.
Up’s lush setting is included in the game, and Charles Muntz makes a return, voiced by Christopher Plummer. Muntz, however, isn’t shown physically in the game, it’s only his voice that can be heard by players. Overall, the game received mixed to average reviews, but it definitely wouldn’t have been the same without Plummer reprising the role of Muntz.
Christopher Plummer’s skill as an actor led to him winning an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and even two Emmy Awards. His talent, as well as his personality, will be missed in Hollywood dearly, but fans can relive his greatest on-screen and video game roles any time.