Donald Sutherland, the enigmatic actor whose lengthy career encompassed films including The Dirty Dozen and The Hunger Games, has died, his son said on Thursday.
He was 88.
“With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away,” actor Kiefer Sutherland wrote on X.
Photo: Reuters
The elder Sutherland had a distinctive look — and piercing eyes — that brought a depth and mystery to the huge range of roles he inhabited over more than half a century on the big screen.
One of Canada’s most famous sons, he played dashing leading men as well as antiheroes and villains, most recently making a name among a new generation of fans as the evil President Snow in The Hunger Games franchise.
“I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. 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,” wrote Kiefer Sutherland.
Reaction to the Emmy and Golden Globe winner’s death was swift, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailing his unique talents.
“I had the opportunity when I was much younger to meet Donald Sutherland, and even as a young man who hadn’t had a full exposure to the depth of brilliance of Donald Sutherland, I was deeply, deeply star struck,” he told a news conference.
“He was a man with a strong presence, a brilliance in his craft, and truly, truly, a great Canadian artist, and he will be deeply missed,” he added.
After what he himself termed a “meandering” start to his acting career, Donald Sutherland came to prominence in Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen, where 12 convicts are tasked with carrying out what appears to be a suicide mission in occupied France.
Starring alongside luminaries such as Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin and Telly Savalas, Sutherland’s impish charms caught the attention of producers of M*A*S*H.
Though set in the Korean War, the 1970 film was widely seen as a sophisticated satire on the Vietnam War.
His casting in the film opened the door to a durable career.
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