How 'The Sound Of Music' Sparked 55-Year Friendship Between Julie Andrews And Christopher Plummer

May 13, 2020

"The Sound of Music" is one of the most iconic movies of Hollywood's Golden Age, and on March 2, 2024, it celebrates its 59th Anniversary. Its two stars, Julie Andrews and the late Christopher Plummer, went on to have successful careers but it's often for this film that they're remembered.

In a series of previous interviews, they opened up about their 55-year-long friendship, rumors of romance between them, and how they stayed the best of friends.

Meeting on the set of the film for the first time, Christopher Plummer was then a well-known stage actor who was a little older than Julie Andrews. But Julie herself had appeared on Broadway numerous times and had a few smaller roles under her belt. Nevertheless, she admits to being intimidated by Plummer's casting in the film.

In speaking with Vanity Fair in 2015, Andrews said: "He was such a hugely great actor that when he was cast in Sound of Music all I could think was, How will I ever live up to that? But we had a very good time. We never had a cross word, nothing."

The Sound of Music was at one point the highest-grossing film in the world, sitting at the top spot for five years. It won numerous accolades, including five Academy Awards and two Golden Globes. Although met with mixed reviews from critics, it was an immediate hit with audiences and has remained as such to this day.

Following its immense success, the two lead actors took their careers in different directions, with Plummer returning to the theater and Andrews continuing in film as both an actor and singer. Plummer spoke in the same interview about being cast as a so-called character actor when he did dip back into the film world—a character actor is someone who is usually eccentric or unusual and plays a supporting role to the main characters. He said: "It's extraordinary, isn't it? But I'm thrilled that I turned into a character actor quite early on. I hated being a poncey leading man. You really start to worry about your jawline."

Andrews on the other hand had her singing career cut short after doctors removed non-cancerous nodules from her vocal chords. She spoke to Vanity Fair of her grief about losing her ability to sing, saying: “It was devastating. I thought maybe I would get it back. That was before I realized that he had actually taken tissue away. But for the year and a half that I waited for something miraculous to happen, I thought I must do something or I’ll go crazy. My daughter Emma and I began to work together and formed our small book-publishing company.” Together they've published over 20 children's books.

Fans undoubtedly think why it is that the two brilliant actors never became romantically involved. Interestingly, they've both discussed this over the years. In speaking with ABC News' Diane Sawyer, Julie Andrews said: "We were never an item, as they say. But now we are the best of friends. We became the best of friends, and that's lovely...probably because we weren't an item."

In his interview with Diane Sawyer, Christopher Plummer also broached the topic, joking: "[We] should have ended up together. We should have had a huge smashing affair. But there was no time because Julie had her children with her, which was most inconvenient." The two were obviously very fond of each other and happy to share memories and a laugh about their friendship even to this day.

Do you remember the first time you saw The Sound of Music? Tell us about it below and be sure to pass this story of friendship on to any friends and family who also love the movie.