Actor Donald Sutherland, whose decadeslong career included roles on “M*A*S*H,” “Animal House,” “Pride & Prejudice” and in the Hunger Games franchise, has died, his son announced Thursday on social media. He was 88.
“With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away,” Kiefer Sutherland wrote Thursday.
“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.”
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
Kiefer Sutherland — who is also a well-known actor — did not share a cause of death for his father. Donald Sutherland’s agency told Canada’s CTV News that he died Thursday in Miami after a long illness.
The Canadian actor was born on July 17, 1935, in Saint John, New Brunswick, according to CBC News. He made his debut on the silver screen in the 1964 Italian Gothic horror film “Castle of the Living Dead.” Three years later, he landed his breakthrough role in 1967′s “The Dirty Dozen.” His more than 140 film credits include roles in 1971′s “Klute,” 1978′s “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and 2003′s “The Italian Job.”
“I love to work. I passionately love to work,” he told Charlie Rose in 1998, according to The Associated Press. “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 was nominated for several acting awards during career, winning a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his work in the 1995 television film “Citizen X.”
In 2017, he received an Academy Honorary Award from the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the time, actress Elisabeth Shue highlighted him as “an incredible actor.”
“His longevity, his depth, his character, his voice, his power as an actor is just undeniable,” she said.
Donald Sutherland is survived by his wife, Francine Racette, five children — Roeg, Rossif, Angus, Kiefer and Rachel — and four grandchildren, the Evening Standard reported.
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