Donald Sutherland

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Donald Sutherland

Canadian actor

Also known as: Donald McNichol Sutherland

Written by Karen Sparks

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 29, 2024 • Article History

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In full:: Donald McNichol Sutherland

Born:: July 17, 1935, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Died:: June 20, 2024, Miami, Florida, U.S.

Also Known As:: Donald McNichol Sutherland

Notable Family Members:: son Kiefer Sutherland

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "The Burnt Orange Heresy" (2019); "Ad Astra" (2019); "American Hangman" (2019); "Trust" (2018); "Measure of a Man" (2018); "Basmati Blues" (2017); "The Leisure Seeker" (2017); "Ice" (2016–2017); "Milton's Secret" (2016); "Crossing Lines" (2013–2015); "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" (2015); "Forsaken" (2015); "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" (2014); "The Calling" (2014); "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (2013); "Jappeloup" (2013); "La migliore offerta" (2013); "Dawn Rider" (2012); "Sofia" (2012); "The Hunger Games" (2012); "Man on the Train" (2011); "Jock" (2011); "Horrible Bosses" (2011); "Moby Dick" (2011); "The Eagle" (2011); "The Mechanic" (2011); "The Con Artist" (2010); "The Pillars of the Earth" (2010); "Astro Boy" (2009); "Dirty Sexy Money" (2007–2009); "Fool's Gold" (2008); "Puffball" (2007); "Reign Over Me" (2007); "Commander in Chief" (2005–2006); "Ask the Dust" (2006); "Land of the Blind" (2006); "An American Haunting" (2005); "Human Trafficking" (2005); "Sunday Pants" (2005); "Lord of War" (2005); "American Gun" (2005); "Pride & Prejudice" (2005); "Fierce People" (2005); "Aurora Borealis" (2005); "Frankenstein" (2004); "Salem's Lot" (2004); "Cold Mountain" (2003); "Baltic Storm" (2003); "The Italian Job" (2003); "Piazza delle cinque lune" (2003); "Da wan" (2001); "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" (2001); "The Art of War" (2000); "Space Cowboys" (2000); "Panic" (2000); "Instinct" (1999); "Virus" (1999); "Free Money" (1998); "Without Limits" (1998); "Fallen" (1998); "The Assignment" (1997); "Shadow Conspiracy" (1997); "A Time to Kill" (1996); "Hollow Point" (1996); "The Simpsons" (1996); "Outbreak" (1995); "Disclosure" (1994); "The Puppet Masters" (1994); "Punch" (1994); "Six Degrees of Separation" (1993); "Red Hot" (1993); "Younger and Younger" (1993); "Benefit of the Doubt" (1993); "Shadow of the Wolf" (1992); "Rakuyô" (1992); "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1992); "The Railway Station Man" (1992); "JFK" (1991); "Cerro Torre: Schrei aus Stein" (1991); "Backdraft" (1991); "Buster's Bedroom" (1991); "Eminent Domain" (1990); "Bethune: The Making of a Hero" (1990); "A Dry White Season" (1989); "Lock Up" (1989); "Lost Angels" (1989); "Apprentice to Murder" (1988); "The Trouble with Spies" (1987); "The Rosary Murders" (1987); "Oviri" (1986); "Revolution" (1985); "Heaven Help Us" (1985); "Crackers" (1984); "Ordeal by Innocence" (1984); "Max Dugan Returns" (1983); "A War Story" (1981); "Threshold" (1981); "Eye of the Needle" (1981); "Gas" (1981); "Ordinary People" (1980); "Nothing Personal" (1980); "Bear Island" (1979); "A Man, a Woman and a Bank" (1979); "Murder by Decree" (1979); "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978); "The First Great Train Robbery" (1978); "Animal House" (1978); "Les liens de sang" (1978); "The Disappearance" (1977); "The Kentucky Fried Movie" (1977); "The Eagle Has Landed" (1976); "Il Casanova di Federico Fellini" (1976); "Novecento" (1976); "The Day of the Locust" (1975); "S*P*Y*S" (1974); "Alien Thunder" (1974); "Don't Look Now" (1973); "Lady Ice" (1973); "Steelyard Blues" (1973); "Norman Corwin Presents" (1972); "Klute" (1971); "Johnny Got His Gun" (1971); "Little Murders" (1971); "Alex in Wonderland" (1970); "Act of the Heart" (1970); "Kelly's Heroes" (1970); "Start the Revolution Without Me" (1970); "MASH" (1970); "The Name of the Game" (1969); "The Champions" (1969); "Joanna" (1968); "The Split" (1968); "Oedipus the King" (1968); "Interlude" (1968); "Man in a Suitcase" (1967–1968); "Sebastian" (1968); "Billion Dollar Brain" (1967); "The Dirty Dozen" (1967); "The Shuttered Room" (1967); "The Avengers" (1967); "The Saint" (1965–1966); "Gideon's Way" (1966); "Theatre 625" (1966); "Court Martial" (1966); "BBC Play of the Month" (1966); "A Farewell to Arms" (1966); "The Bedford Incident" (1965); "ITV Play of the Week" (1963–1965); "The Sullavan Brothers" (1965); "Fanatic" (1965); "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" (1965); "Il castello dei morti vivi" (1964); "The Sentimental Agent" (1963); "The Odd Man" (1963); "Suspense" (1963); "Studio 4" (1962)

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Donald Sutherland (born July 17, 1935, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada—died June 20, 2024, Miami, Florida, U.S.) was a Canadian character actor who was equally adept at portraying heinous villains and benevolent family patriarchs. His notable films included M*A*S*H (1970), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Ordinary People (1980), and the Hunger Games series.

After graduating with dual degrees in engineering and drama from the University of Toronto, Sutherland embarked on a career on the London stage. He later appeared on such television series as The Saint, Court Martial, and The Avengers before capturing attention on the big screen with his role as the dim-witted Vernon Pinkley in The Dirty Dozen (1967). His breakout role, however, was Hawkeye Pierce, the lanky wisecracking and insubordinate surgeon in the satirical war classic M*A*S*H (1970). Another war film followed, the comedic Kelly’s Heroes (1970). In the taut Klute (1971) and Don’t Look Now (1973), he played characters who develop obsessive streaks while investigating the disappearance of a friend and the death of a daughter, respectively.

Sutherland portrayed a murderous fascist leader in the critically acclaimed Italian epic 1900 (1976) and a Nazi spy in the thriller Eye of the Needle (1981). Another classic dramatic role for Sutherland was as the tormented father in the Academy Award-winning film Ordinary People (1980). He played other paternal or avuncular film roles in A Dry White Season (1989), Cold Mountain (2003), The Italian Job (2003), Pride & Prejudice (2005; as the estimable Mr. Bennet), The Mechanic (2011), and The Eagle (2011).

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood

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In the realm of science fiction, Sutherland starred in the chilling remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and added a noteworthy gravitas to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). Other movie credits included the Canadian film Threshold (1981), for which he won a Genie Award, and the adventure thriller Space Cowboys (2000). He portrayed the president of a dystopian society in the film adaptations (2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015) of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Sutherland later had a supporting role in Ad Astra (2019), a futuristic drama in which an astronaut (played by Brad Pitt) searches the solar system for his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones). His later films included The Burnt Orange Heresy (2019), about an art heist, and the horror thriller Alone (2020).

Sutherland also appeared in a number of television productions, and he earned an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as best performer in a supporting role for his turn in the made-for-TV movie Citizen X (1995), as the commanding officer on the trail of a Russian serial killer. He also received a Golden Globe for his role in Path to War (2002). His other television work included central roles in the series Commander in Chief (2005–06), Dirty Sexy Money (2007–09), and Crossing Lines (2013–15) and in the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth (2010). He later played oil baron J. Paul Getty in the anthology series Trust (2018), the first season of which concerned the 1973 kidnapping of Getty’s grandson. In 2020 Sutherland appeared in the miniseries The Undoing, about a therapist (played by Nicole Kidman) whose seemingly perfect life begins to unravel.

Sutherland’s son Kiefer was also a noted actor.

Karen Sparks The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica