The Sound of Music’s child actors look back: ‘Musicals about singing nuns – no one was sure the public was going to buy it’

A gleaming new 4K restoration has brought the cultural touchstone back into the spotlight, but what happened to the children who played the Von Trapps?

‘We’re still almost boringly normal,” says Nicholas Hammond, helpfully making an observation that I was still figuring out how to tactfully phrase. “If you sat down with us today, you’re just sitting down with a bunch of people.”

The 75-year-old actor, speaking by Zoom from his home in Sydney, is the oldest living member of the seven-strong youth ensemble who played the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music 60 years ago. With the indelible musical receiving an anniversary rerelease in cinemas this weekend – in a gleaming new 4K restoration to boot – five of the seven are preparing for another reunion to mark the occasion.

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