Esteemed actor Donald Sutherland, known for such roles as President Snow in The Hunger Games and Hawkeye in the movie adaptation of M*A*S*H has died, according to a statement from his agency CAA. His son, Kiefer Sutherland, reported on his father’s death “[w]ith a heavy heart.” He went on to refer to his father as “one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly.” Donald Sutherland was a passionate artist whose career dates back to 1967’s The Dirty Dozen and beyond.
Sutherland’s striking presence and intensity helped earn two Golden Globes and an Emmy for his role as a Soviet official in Citizen X. With 140 film credits to his name, his career certainly didn’t end there. The Dirty Dozen became the breakout hit that helped launch his career. It’s his role as Doctor Hawkeye Pierce in the M*A*S*H film, however, that cemented his on-screen legacy. Sutherland was an inductee of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and his work on the HBO miniseries The Undoing won him a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries.
Younger audiences may be most familiar with his work on The Hunger Games, The Italian Job, and Pride & Prejudice. That said, here are a few genres of cinema that Sutherland didn’t touch. His filmography includes comedies and tragedies, demonstrating the actor’s profound range. Details of Sutherland’s “long illness” have not yet been revealed. There’s no telling whether Kiefer’s announcement regarding his father’s passing will be the only official pronouncement or the first of many as this sad story unfolds. Donald Sutherland leaves behind an incredible acting portfolio, a beloved family, and a legion of fans.
