Donald Sutherland, 'One of the Most Important Actors in the History of Film,' Dies at 88
Donald Sutherland, the prolific film and television actor whose long career stretched from “M.A.S.H.” to “The Hunger Games,” has died.
He was 88.
Kiefer Sutherland, the actor’s son, confirmed his father’s death Thursday.
No further details were immediately available.
“I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film,” Kiefer Sutherland said on social media. “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.”
With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. 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… pic.twitter.com/3EdJB03KKT
— Kiefer Sutherland (@RealKiefer) June 20, 2024
The tall and gaunt Canadian actor with a grin that could be sweet or diabolical was known for offbeat characters such as Hawkeye Pierce in Robert Altman’s “M.A.S.H.,” the hippie tank commander in “Kelly’s Heroes” and the stoned professor in “Animal House.”
Before transitioning into a long career as a respected character actor, Sutherland epitomized the unpredictable, anti-establishment cinema of the 1970s.
Over the decades, Sutherland showed his range in more buttoned-down — but still eccentric — parts in Robert Redford’s “Ordinary People” and Oliver Stone’s “JFK.”
RIP the great Donald Sutherland, a favourite actor and always fascinating screen presence. He starred in two of my very favourite and most influential films – ‘Don’t Look Now’ and the 1978 ‘Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers’. But that is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of his… pic.twitter.com/HzRHIGd2ov
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) June 20, 2024
More, recently, he starred in the “Hunger Games” films and the HBO limited series “The Undoing.”
Donald Sutherland (1935-2024) 🖤 pic.twitter.com/zEdQjmIVV0
— Letterboxd (@letterboxd) June 20, 2024
He never retired and worked regularly up until his death.
“I love to work. I passionately love to work,” Sutherland told Charlie Rose in 1998. “I love to feel my hand fit into the glove of some other character. I feel a huge freedom — time stops for me.
“I’m not as crazy as I used to be, but I’m still a little crazy.”
He received an honorary Oscar in 2017.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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