Hollywood icon Donald Sutherland looked calm in the spotlight during his last public appearance before his death at the age of 88.
The actor, whose death was announced Thursday, last spoke to the press via Zoom in March 2021 after winning a Critics Choice Award for his role in HBO’s The Undoing.
Sutherland looked dapper in a tuxedo and black bow tie, with his white hair down to his shoulders.
He was talking about his role as Nicole Kidman’s father in the miniseries, which follows his character after her husband, played by Hugh Grant, is accused of murder.
When asked how he was able to have such a successful career for more than six decades, Sutherland responded that it was all about his mindset.
Hollywood icon Donald Sutherland looked at ease in the spotlight during his last public appearance before his death at the age of 88.
He said: “I can only say, it sounds horrible and really pretentious, but it has always been the search for truthfulness, the truthfulness of the character and the joy of discovering that, that has been the great happiness of my life.”
The death of the veteran Canadian actor due to a long illness was announced Thursday by his son, film star Kiefer Sutherland.
He died in Miami, according to his talent agency CAA.
No further details were immediately available.
Sutherland’s career spanned more than 60 years. He saw a resurgence of popularity among younger audiences in recent years thanks to his role as the evil President Snow in The Hunger Games franchise.
He was talking about his role as Nicole Kidman’s father on HBO’s The Undoing, which follows his character after her husband, played by Hugh Grant, is accused of murder.
The actor, whose death was announced Thursday, last spoke to the press via Zoom in March 2021. He is seen with his honorary Oscar in 2017.
Kiefer Sutherland, the actor’s son, confirmed his father’s death on Thursday. No further details were immediately available.
“Personally, I think he’s one of the most important actors in film history,” Kiefer Sutherland said in You can ask for more than that.’
In 2022, Sutherland appeared in what would be his final projects, Lawmen: Bass Reeves and Swimming With Sharks.
Sutherland was set to star in the upcoming apocalyptic film Heart Land, which is in pre-production.
The Canadian actor, tall and thin, with a smile that could be sweet or devilish, was known for unconventional characters such as Hawkeye Pierce in Robert Altman’s MASH, the hippie tank commander in Kelly’s Heroes and the stoned professor in Animal House.
Sutherland’s career spanned more than 60 years and saw a resurgence with younger audiences in recent years thanks to his role as the evil President Snow in the Hunger Games franchise.
Donald Sutherland making a comment while sitting in a scene from the film ‘MASH’, 1970
Before embarking on 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 simpler but still eccentric roles in Robert Redford’s Ordinary People and Oliver Stone’s JFK. She most recently starred in The Hunger Games films.
He never retired and worked regularly until his death.
A memoir, Made Up, But Still True, would be published in November.
His first American film was ‘The Dirty Dozen’ in 1967, in which he played Vernon Pinkley, the psychopath who poses as an officer.
Angus Sutherland with a quote, Roeg Sutherland, Donald Sutherland, Rachel Sutherland, Rossif Sutherland at the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony honoring Donald Sutherland in 2011
The year 1970 saw the release of the World War II story Kelly’s Heroes and MASH, an acclaimed smash hit that catapulted Sutherland to stardom.
Sutherland won an Emmy in 1995 for his role in Citizen
The actor also won a Golden Globe for the miniseries Citizen
In 2017 he received an Honorary Academy Award.
He also leaves behind his wife Francine Racette and their three adult children. The couple is seen in 2016.
Sutherland is survived by Keith and his twin sister Rachel from his marriage to his ex-wife Shirley Douglas.
She married in 1966 and divorced in 1971.
In 1974, the actor began living with actress Francine Racette, with whom he remained forever.
They had three children: Roeg, born in 1974 and named after director Nicolas Roeg (Don’t Look Now); Rossif, born in 1978 and named after director Frederick Rossif; and Angus Redford, born in 1979 and named after Robert Redford.
Sutherland also leaves behind four grandchildren.
