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

‘When we see each other again, it’s like we’ve never been apart’ … the seven young actors playing the Von Trapp family, Charmian Carr, Nicholas Hammond, Angela Cartwright, Heather Menzies, Duane Chase, Debbie Turner, and Kym Karath, with Julie Andrews.
Photograph: Screen Archives/Getty Images

‘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.