Donald Sutherland, who spent decades on the big screen in acclaimed films like M*A*S*H* and Klute, has died. He was 88.
His son Kiefer Sutherland confirmed the news “with a heavy heart” via his Instagram. To a throwback photo of himself as a child with his famous dad, Kiefer called Donald “one of the most important actors in the history of film.”
He added, “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 than that. A life well lived.”
Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, Sutherland got his start as a radio DJ when he was a teen, before studying at Victoria College and at University of Toronto, and later the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
After treading the boards at the Perth Repertory Theater in Scotland, Sutherland struggled, before eventually moving to Hollywood. In 1967, he appeared in the World War II hit The Dirty Dozen and followed that with roles as “Hawkeye” Pierce in Robert Altman‘s 1970 classic M*A*S*H*.
Other notable appearances followed, including the Oscar-winning thriller Klute in 1971 and the acclaimed Ordinary People in 1980.
Sutherland appeared in dozens of other projects on the big and small screens, nabbing a Supporting Actor Emmy Award for the miniseries Citizen X in 1995.
He later became famous to a younger generation thanks to his role as the villainous President Snow in 2012’s The Hunger Games and its sequels.
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