Reynaldo Pacheco: Beginners Luck with Christopher Plummer

Imagine being fresh out of school. You audition for a role in a film and much to your surprise you book the part. Not a big part, but a pivotal one in an independent film. Then you find out the leads of the film are Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer. That’s precisely what happened to Reynaldo Pacheco. He plays the nurse attending to Plummer in the last part of the movie Beginners.

Plummer, who passed away last week, won an Academy Award for his performance in the film. So I reached out to Pacheco, who happens to be a friend, to find out what it was like for him as a beginner with the renowned actor.

In addition to Beginners, Pacheco has appeared in such film and television projects as Without Men, Our Brand Is Crisis and CSI: NY. We met during production of Our Brand Is Crisis which starred Sandra Bullock, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton.

Before I even asked a question, the stories started. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity.

It’s probably the most important experience I am ever going to have as an actor. That was my first time on set. I’ll never forget seeing Mr. Plummer in his dressing room and there’s a lot of flowers. He loved flowers. His friends would send him flowers while he was shooting a movie. He was very classy, very elegant.

What do you remember most about your day on set?

No one knew it was my first time. I was so self-conscious that if they knew they would be nervous or fire me on the spot. We got to the scene. [Writer/Director] Mike Mills came and asked what I needed. We talked about the scene and Mike explained what was going to happen and where the camera was going to come from.

I turned around and Mr. Plummer was sleeping. I was ready to start the scene and he’s sleeping. I hear action and I push him a little bit. He opens his eyes. It was the biggest lesson – this guy was already in the scene. He was already dying. He gave me a truthful moment because I really had to wake him up. It was the easiest and most fun scene I’ve ever done. We did the scene three times, very fast.

Since this was a low-budget film I’m assuming you didn’t have multiple cameras or multiple angles?

No. Mike said afterwards, “It was so great and it was so natural. What else have you done?” I said, “That’s the first thing I’ve ever done.” Mr. Plummer said, “That’s Reynaldo’s initiation.” Everyone came around because that was also my wrap and they all clapped. Mr. Plummer found me getting a snack afterwards. He said, “I’m very impressed. You’re very brave. Many more please.” I gave him script to sign and he wrote “Many more please, Christopher Plummer”

That must have felt great.

Walking away from that experience was a life-changing moment for me. I realized a real star doesn’t force its shine. A real star just shines. He was so humble, so nice, so present and so connected. He was talking to everyone with the same kindness and respect. A year later he was winning the Oscar for that film.

Did you see him again after the shoot?

I saw Mr. Plummer and his wife when he was nominated for an Oscar 3-4 years ago [All the Money in the World] and he was at one of the hotels in Beverly Hills. I was with some friends who were visiting from Mexico and I saw him near the elevator. I said, “Mr. Plummer, I wanted to say hi and congratulations on the nomination.” He gave me a hug. I don’t think he remembered me. There were a lot of people around him trying to get his attention. That was a magical moment to shake hands and say I wish you the best.

What came to mind when you heard about his passing and when was the last time you saw Beginners?

I just saw it a couple days ago. It really hit me when I heard he passed. I felt something in my chest and I started praying and was talking to him and thanking him and saying what an inspiration he was to everyone. This is a man who held my hand and walked me through my first scene.

When I look back at the scene I see the Reynaldo back then that had no idea this big scene would be the moment my career changed. I’m so blessed and grateful. I was lucky enough to be in the same scene with Christopher Plummer in the role he won an Oscar for. The whole experience was magical.

Beginners can be streamed on HBO, HBO MAX and DirectTV. It can be rented on Amazon, YouTube and other outlets.

All photos courtesy Reynaldo Pacheco