Canadian screen and stage legend Christopher Plummer made his home country proud Sunday night when he became the oldest actor to win an Academy Award.
Plummer, 82, received his first Oscar for his supporting role in the movie "Beginners."
"You're only two years older than me darling, where have you been all my life?" Plummer joked onstage as he accepted the award.
"I have a confession to make. When I first emerged from my mother's womb, I was already rehearsing my Academy thank-you speech. But it was so long ago, mercifully for you I've forgotten it. But I haven't forgotten who to thank," he said.
The Oscar win is a high point in Plummer's illustrious, decades-long career.
His turn in "Beginners" as an elderly widower who reveals that he is gay has attracted widespread critical acclaim, as well as a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA and a Spirit Award.
Plummer's first Oscar nomination came two years ago for his performance in "The Last Station."
The actor is best known as Capt. Georg Von Trapp in 1965's "The Sound of Music." It's just one of roughly 200 movie and television credits he's amassed over the years.
Plummer has also continued to work onstage, frequently appearing at Ontario's Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
Other Oscar-nominated Canadians did not fare as well Sunday.
Philippe Falardeau's francophone movie "Monsieur Lazhar" lost to Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's "A Separation" in the best foreign-language film category.
Toronto-born composer Howard Shore, who already has three Oscars, was up for best score for his work on "Hugo" but lost to Ludovic Bource's score for "The Artist."
Welland, Ont.-raised David Giammarco was nominated for best sound mixing on "Moneyball." But Tom Fleischman and John Midgley took home Oscar gold for their work on "Hugo" in that category.
With files from The Canadian Press
