Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, celebrated for his roles in films such as “The Hunger Games” and “Don’t Look Now,” has passed away at the age of 88 after a long illness.
Actor Donald Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland announced with a heavy heart the passing of his father, Donald Sutherland, stating, “With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think he was one of the most important actors in the history of film.” The revered actor’s legacy spans decades of impactful performances and iconic roles.
“Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”
The news was met with an outpouring of support and tributes from fans and fellow actors alike.
Actor Rob Lowe, who starred alongside Sutherland in the miniseries Salem’s Lot, called his former co-star “one of our greatest actors”.
“He was an honor to work with many years ago, and I will always remember his charisma and talent,” he wrote on X/Twitter.
Cary Elwes, a co-star in the 2001 television film Uprising, said he was “devastated” by Sutherland’s death.
“Our hearts are breaking for you, Kiefer,” he wrote in an Instagram message. “So grateful to have known and worked with your father. Sending you all our love.”
Donald Sutherland, originally from New Brunswick, Canada, embarked on his career as a radio news reporter before venturing to London in 1957. There, he immersed himself in studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, laying the foundation for his illustrious acting career.
He then took on small roles in British film and television.
He gained prominence with early roles in notable war films such as 1967’s “The Dirty Dozen,” as well as “Kelly’s Heroes” and “MAS*H” in 1970.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recalled feeling “deeply, deeply star-struck” when he first met Sutherland.
“My thoughts are with Kiefer and the entire Sutherland family, along with all Canadians who share in this sadness, as I do,” he expressed.
“He was a man with a strong presence, a brilliance in his craft and truly, truly a great Canadian artist,” he added.
US President Joe Biden said Sutherland was a “one-of-a-kind actor who inspired and entertained the world for decades”.
More Read
Ron Howard, who directed Sutherland in the 1991 film Backdraft, said that he was “one of the most intelligent, interesting [and] engrossing film actors of all time”.
Jane Fonda starred alongside Donald Sutherland in Alan J. Pakula’s 1971 thriller “Klute,” where they portrayed characters involved in a detective’s search for a missing person, aided by a high-priced call girl.
They dated for two years.
In a tribute on Instagram, Fonda described Sutherland as a “brilliant actor” with whom she shared “quite a few adventures”, including performances to active servicemen during an anti-Vietnam war tour in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.
“I am heartbroken,” she added.
The 1970s also saw him play an IRA member in The Eagle Has Landed, a pot-smoking college professor in National Lampoon’s Animal House and the lead in the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
During the 1980s, Donald Sutherland portrayed the role of a father to a troubled teenager in the Oscar-winning film “Ordinary People.”
He turned to television in the 2000s, appearing in such series as Dirty Sexy Money and Commander-in-Chief.
Despite his extensive filmography, Donald Sutherland never received an Oscar nomination. However, his remarkable contributions to cinema were honored with an honorary Academy Award in 2017.
Sutherland was known for his political activism throughout his career, and protested against the Vietnam war alongside Fonda.
He infused his beliefs into roles like President Snow in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.”
Sutherland told the BBC in 2015 that he hoped the film’s socio-political message would help young fans become more aware of the world around them.
“We asked the kindest man in the world to portray the most corrupt, ruthless dictator weтАЩve ever seen,” the official Hunger Games X account posted following the announcement of his death.
“Such was the power and skill of Donald SutherlandтАЩs acting that he created one more indelible character among many others that defined his legendary career. We are privileged to have known and worked with him, and our thoughts are with his family.”
He also told the BBC that the biggest changes he’d noticed in the industry was that actors were making “a lot of money”.
“I don’t think anybody of my generation became an actor to make money. It never occurred to me. I made ┬г8 a week here [on stage in London]. When I starred in a play at the Royal Court, I made ┬г17 a week, that was in 1964,” he said.
At the time, he said he had no plans to retire from acting.
“It’s a passionate pursuit. For actors, retirement is synonymous with ‘death’,” he declared.
His memoir titled “Made Up, But Still True” is scheduled for release in November.
rip