Donald Sutherland, the acclaimed actor with a career spanning over seven decades and more than 200 films and TV shows, passed away on Thursday in Miami, Florida, after a prolonged illness. He was 88 years old.
"He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that," his son Kiefer Sutherland wrote on X. "A life well lived."
Sutherland's often cynical and subversive presence became a fixture in American cinema. Despite his long and illustrious career, which began during the Vietnam War era, he never received an Oscar nomination, although the Academy awarded him an honorary Oscar in 2017. "I wish I could say thank you to all the characters I've played," Sutherland said during his acceptance speech. "Thank them for using their lives to inform my life."
The Canadian actor's career initially focused on roles as American soldiers. His breakout role came in 1967 with "The Dirty Dozen," where he portrayed a convict turned soldier on a suicide mission ahead of D-Day.
Director Robert Altman, impressed by Sutherland's performance, cast him as the wisecracking combat surgeon Hawkeye in the 1970 film "M*A*S*H." That same year, he played a rogue tank commander named Oddball in "Kelly's Heroes." These films were released amid the tumultuous backdrop of the Vietnam War.
Despite frequently portraying soldiers, Sutherland was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War. In 1971, he and Jane Fonda performed in a traveling roadshow in front of U.S. military soldiers as a leftist counterpoint to Bob Hope's pro-war USO tour. This show, featuring skits, songs, and interviews with soldiers, was documented in the 1972 film "F.T.A." Sutherland and Fonda, who were involved in a romantic relationship at the time, were placed on National Security Agency watchlists for two years due to their anti-war activities.
Sutherland's political activism did not hinder his career. He moved on to leading roles, portraying a sullen police officer in "Klute," an aspiring artist in "The Day of the Locust," and grieving fathers in "Ordinary People" and "Don't Look Now."
Sutherland was perhaps best known for his portrayals of off-kilter authority figures, playing doctors, sadistic prison wardens, and paranoid government officials, such as in Oliver Stone's "JFK." A new generation of fans, including actress Jennifer Lawrence, recognized his chilling portrayal of the tyrannical President Snow in "The Hunger Games" film series. "Donald is the most committed, professional, kind person I have ever met," Lawrence said at the 2017 Governors Awards, where Sutherland received his honorary Oscar.
Sutherland's children, including his son, actor Kiefer Sutherland, followed in his footsteps. Despite never winning an Oscar, he earned other accolades, including Emmy and Golden Globe awards. Donald Sutherland's subtle, dry performances left audiences both amused and unsettled, achieving the exact impact he intended.
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