‘Never daunted’: Donald Sutherland dead aged 88

Kiefer Sutherland says his father, whose lengthy career encompassed films including MASH, and The Hunger Games, was one of the film world’s most important actors.

Donald Sutherland in a scene from the TV miniseries The Pillars of the Earth.

Donald Sutherland, an actor with cross-generational appeal who starred in hits including the M*A*S*H and the Hunger Games movie franchise, has died, his son said Thursday. He was 88.

Kiefer Sutherland, an actor and star of the TV show 24, announced the death in a social-media post, saying, “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

The Canadian actor had a career that spanned seven decades. His big break came in the 1967 film The Dirty Dozen, where he played one of a dozen convicted murderers sent to assassinate German officers during World War II.

He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in M*A*S*H as Hawkeye Pierce, a surgeon in the Korean War.

Other films include Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Animal House, both in 1978, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1992.

To younger audiences, he was known for his turn as the antagonist President Snow in the Hunger Games franchise from 2012 to 2015.

He said in 2012, “I’ve made over 130 films and I loved every role I’ve ever played, even the tyrannical villains.” Sutherland was an ardent anti-war activist. He told The Wall Street Journal in 2015, “War exists for profit, for oil, for money, for territory. Excuse me, but how can the good guys be doing that?” He added, “It is always the kids, and it’s the poor kids who are always sent.” He embraced the Hunger Games franchise partly because of his activism.

Actors Donald Sutherland and Kiefer Sutherland.

After he read the script for the first movie, he sent his agent a long analysis of why the movie – and its anti-war sentiments – was a must-see for young people. He played the president of the movie’s fictional country that forces some teenagers to compete in a fight to the death. The franchise was a hit among younger audiences and introduced him to a new generation of fans.

Donald Sutherland at the premiere of The Hunger Games in Los Angeles. Picture: Getty Images

Donald Sutherland attends the world premiere of the film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 in Berlin. Picture: Getty Images

Born in New Brunswick, Canada, Sutherland was always interested in acting, but his father encouraged him to have a fallback plan. He initially studied engineering at the University of Toronto.

“The professors of engineering, they suggested I leave after my third year,” he said in 2015.

He graduated with a degree in English literature and then went to London for drama school, where he and the teachers didn’t always get along. One suggested he become a truck driver.

He didn’t listen to her, and eventually he landed his first feature film role in a 1964 Italian horror movie. He met his second wife, actress Shirley Douglas, during filming and they had two children, Kiefer and Rachel. He later had three children with his third wife, Francine Racette.

Donald Sutherland in a scene from film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Sutherland went on to act in a string of films and TV shows over the next several decades. He said in 2015 that Hollywood hadn’t changed much since he started acting in the 1960s. “Obviously the mechanics of it have and the corporate structure of it have,” he said, but noted the kinds of films have stayed the same. Still, he said, “the advent of television has obviously taken B movies’ place.” He once joked that his son Kiefer became interested in acting after seeing his father’s big suit collection and deciding he might want a similar one someday.

Kiefer Sutherland said Thursday that he believed his father was “one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly.”

Dow Jones