After a protracted illness, Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, who starred in films such as The Hunger Games and Don’t Look Now, passed away at the age of 88.
“With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away,” his actor son Kiefer Sutherland said. One of the most significant actors in movie history, in my opinion. “Never daunted by a role, good, bad, or ugly.” One can never ask for more than that—he did what he loved and loved what he did. a life well-lived.
Throughout the course of a career spanning more than fifty years, Sutherland accumulated nearly 200 credits.
An abundance of tributes and support were received after the news.
In the miniseries Salem’s Lot, actor Rob Lowe played opposite Sutherland and referred to him as “one of our greatest actors.” He posted on X/Twitter, saying, “It was an honour to work with him many years ago, and I will never forget his charisma and ability.”
Co-star Cary Elwes, who starred in the 2001 television movie Uprising, expressed his shock at Sutherland’s passing. “You have our undying love,” he wrote on Instagram to Kiefer. I’m so appreciative to have worked and known him. Our love is being sent.
“88-year-old actor Donald Sutherland passes away”
When he first met Sutherland, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remembered being “deeply, deeply star-struck.” “Kiefer and the entire Sutherland family, along with all Canadians who are no doubt saddened to learn, as I am right now, are in my thoughts and prayers,” he said. “He was a man with a strong presence, a mastery of his trade, and an incredibly talented Canadian artist,” he continued.
Sutherland was hailed as “one of the most intelligent, interesting, and engrossing film actors of all time” by Ron Howard, who directed him in the 1991 movie Backdraft.
Sutherland, a Canadian native originally from New Brunswick, began his career as a radio news reporter before moving to London in 1957 to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After that, he started playing bit parts in British TV shows and films.
His first notable roles were in war films, such as The Dirty Dozen from 1967, Kelly’s Heroes, and M*A*S*H from 1970.
In Alan J. Pakula’s 1971 thriller Klute, starring Sutherland, Jane Fonda played a detective who enlists the help of an expensive call girl to help with a missing person’s investigation.
They spent two years dating.
He also portrayed an IRA member in The Eagle Has Landed, a college professor who smokes pot in National Lampoon’s Animal House, and the main character in the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake during the 1970s.
Sutherland portrayed the father of a suicidal adolescent in the Oscar-winning film Ordinary People during the 1980s. In the 2000s, he made the switch to television, making appearances in shows like Commander-in-Chief and Dirty Sexy Money.
He played a lot of roles, but he never received an Oscar nomination. In 2017, he was given an honorary Academy Award. Throughout his career, Sutherland was well-known for his political activism; he and Fonda participated in anti-Vietnam War demonstrations.
In some of his roles, such as the oppressive President Snow in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, he also incorporated his beliefs.
In 2015, Sutherland expressed his hope to the BBC that the film’s social-political message would increase the awareness of the outside world among young viewers.
The official Hunger Games Twitter account said, “We asked the kindest man in the world to portray the most corrupt, ruthless dictator we’ve ever seen,” after the news of his passing. “Among the many unforgettable characters that shaped Donald Sutherland’s illustrious career, he embodied one more due to the depth and brilliance of his acting. His family is in our thoughts, and we are grateful to have known and worked with him.
Additionally, he told the BBC that the biggest shift he had seen in the business was the increase in actors’ pay.
“I don’t believe that anyone in my generation went into acting in order to get money. I had never thought of it. I was earning £8 a week here in Londo on stage. In 1964, I earned £17 a week as a lead actor in a play at the Royal Court,” he remarked.
He stated at the time that he had no intention of leaving acting behind. It’s an enthusiastic endeavour. Actors’ retirement is spelt ‘DEATH’, he declared.
Made Up, But Still True, his memoir, is slated for release in November.
[BBC]
