Christopher Plummer wins best supporting actor Oscar

Christopher Plummer accepts the Oscar for best actor in a supporting role for “Beginners” during the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

HOLLYWOOD – Christopher Plummer on Sunday crowned a six-decade acting career with a long-overdue Oscar, a best supporting actor trophy for his role as an ailing widower who comes out as gay in “Beginners.”

More than 40 years after his starring role in “The Sound of Music,” the Canadian veteran – one of Hollywood’s most recognizable character actors – finally earned recognition from Academy voters.

At 82, he becomes the oldest actor ever to win an Oscar – two years older than Jessica Tandy was when she won best actress honors for “Driving Miss Daisy.”

Addressing his coveted golden statuette, he joked: “You’re only two years older than me, darling – where have you been all my life?” adding that he had been rehearsing his Oscar acceptance speech since he was born.

Last month, he brought home a Screen Actors Guild award and a Golden Globe for “Beginners,” in which he co-stars with Ewan McGregor and was directed by Mike Mills, who based the story on his own father.