Christopher Plummer Gives Thumbs Up to SOUND OF MUSIC Casting

In an interview published in Zaptoit.com today, Christopher Plummer, who portrayed Captain Von Trapp in the 1965 Rodgers & Hammerstein classic THE SOUND OF MUSIC, gave a thumbs-up to the casting of NBC's upcoming live version of the musical.

The role of the Von Trapp patriarch will be assumed by "True Blood"s Stephen Moyer in the latest version, while country star Carrie Underwood will step into the shoes of Julie Andrews as beloved governess Maria.

"It was very close to the vampire life, I thought," Plummer joked about the role to be taken over by Moyer. "All I can say to them is, 'Good bloody luck!' I mean, they're going to have quite a time trying to top Julie. She was so marvelous in it ... but they could easily top me. If you see my performance in it in Europe, and it's dubbed into the language of whatever country it is, it's so much better."

Plummer is still surprised to this day at 'the amazing success" of the now 50-year-old film. "I'm very grateful for it, I just wish it had been in a role that I felt was a bit meatier," he comments. "I mustn't keep knocking it, and I don't, really. I do respect it, and as a family film, it's never been bettered."

The three-hour production, airing live on NBC on December 5th, will be based on the original 1959 Broadway production of "The Sound of Music," which starred Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel. The play won the Tony Award as best musical and Martin won as best actress. The 1965 film version starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer and went on to win five Academy Awards, including best picture.

The music and lyrics for "The Sound of Music" were written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, respectively.