Canadian Actor Donald Sutherland, Known for Roles in ‘M.A.S.H.’ and ‘Hunger Games,’ Passes Away at Age 88
NEW YORK—Donald Sutherland, the prolific film and television actor whose long career stretched from “M.A.S.H.” to “The Hunger Games,” has passed away at the age of 88.
Kiefer Sutherland, the actor’s son, confirmed his father’s death on June 20. Further details are not yet available.
“I personally think he was one of the most important actors in the history of film,” Kiefer Sutherland said. “Never afraid of any role, whether good, bad, or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that.”
The tall and gaunt Canadian actor with a versatile grin was known for playing offbeat characters such as Hawkeye Pierce in “M.A.S.H.,” the hippie tank commander in “Kelly’s Heroes,” and the stoned professor in “Animal House.”
Before transitioning into a long career as a respected character actor, Sutherland epitomized the unpredictable, anti-establishment cinema of the 1970s.
Over the years, he showcased his range in more mainstream but still eccentric roles in films like Robert Redford’s “Ordinary People” and Oliver Stone’s “JFK.”
Related Stories
More recently, he appeared in the “Hunger Games” films and the HBO limited series “The Undoing.” Sutherland continued working until his passing, never retiring.
“I love to work. I passionately love to work,” Sutherland once said. “I love to feel my hand fit into the glove of some other character. I feel a huge freedom—time stops for me. I’m not as crazy as I used to be, but I’m still a little crazy.”
