Donald Sutherland

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Donald Sutherland

Canadian actor

Also known as: Donald McNichol Sutherland

Written by Karen Sparks

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: May 18, 2025 • Article History

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In full:: Donald McNichol Sutherland

Born:: July 17, 1935, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Died:: June 20, 2024, Miami, Florida, U.S. (aged 88)

Notable Family Members:: son Kiefer Sutherland

Married To:: Francine Racette (1972–present); Shirley Douglas (1966–1971); Lois Hardwick (1959–1966)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Studio 4" (1962); "Max Dugan Returns" (1983); "Instinct" (1999); "Revolution" (1985); "Backdraft" (1991); "Disclosure" (1994); "The Name of the Game" (1969); "The Kentucky Fried Movie" (1977); "Rakuyô" (1992); "Heaven Help Us" (1985); "Joanna" (1968); "The Pillars of the Earth" (2010); "Court Martial" (1966); "La migliore offerta" (2013); "The Eagle" (2011); "Jappeloup" (2013); "The Bedford Incident" (1965); "Lady Ice" (1973); "The Burnt Orange Heresy" (2019); "The Disappearance" (1977); "Gas" (1981); "Space Cowboys" (2000); "Norman Corwin Presents" (1972); "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" (1965); "Steelyard Blues" (1973); "Land of the Blind" (2006); "Murder by Decree" (1979); "American Gun" (2005); "Moby Dick" (2011); "Commander in Chief" (2005–2006); "Virus" (1999); "The Champions" (1969); "Billion Dollar Brain" (1967); "Dawn Rider" (2012); "Frankenstein" (2004); "Punch" (1994); "Man in a Suitcase" (1967–1968); "The Assignment" (1997); "Fallen" (1998); "The Split" (1968); "Apprentice to Murder" (1988); "Fierce People" (2005); "Ordinary People" (1980); "Da wan" (2001); "Sunday Pants" (2005); "The Simpsons" (1996); "Ice" (2016–2017); "The Shuttered Room" (1967); "Benefit of the Doubt" (1993); "The Saint" (1965–1966); "Astro Boy" (2009); "Theatre 625" (1966); "Pride & Prejudice" (2005); "Suspense" (1963); "Basmati Blues" (2017); "The Leisure Seeker" (2017); "Klute" (1971); "Sebastian" (1968); "Bear Island" (1979); "Human Trafficking" (2005); "Trust" (2018); "Crackers" (1984); "Start the Revolution Without Me" (1970); "Horrible Bosses" (2011); "Crossing Lines" (2013–2015); "Panic" (2000); "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (2013); "Shadow Conspiracy" (1997); "Buster's Bedroom" (1991); "The Odd Man" (1963); "Baltic Storm" (2003); "Man on the Train" (2011); "Lost Angels" (1989); "Cold Mountain" (2003); "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" (2001); "Fool's Gold" (2008); "The Italian Job" (2003); "Without Limits" (1998); "Eminent Domain" (1990); "An American Haunting" (2005); "Act of the Heart" (1970); "The Sentimental Agent" (1963); "Sofia" (2012); "The First Great Train Robbery" (1978); "Reign Over Me" (2007); "Aurora Borealis" (2005); "BBC Play of the Month" (1966); "A Man, a Woman and a Bank" (1979); "Outbreak" (1995); "The Day of the Locust" (1975); "Johnny Got His Gun" (1971); "Gideon's Way" (1966); "Forsaken" (2015); "Ask the Dust" (2006); "The Dirty Dozen" (1967); "Lord of War" (2005); "The Eagle Has Landed" (1976); "Younger and Younger" (1993); "Lock Up" (1989); "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1992); "The Rosary Murders" (1987); "Shadow of the Wolf" (1992); "The Puppet Masters" (1994); "A Farewell to Arms" (1966); "Jock" (2011); "Il Casanova di Federico Fellini" (1976); "Oviri" (1986); "Six Degrees of Separation" (1993); "The Mechanic" (2011); "MASH" (1970); "Nothing Personal" (1980); "The Con Artist" (2010); "Interlude" (1968); "The Avengers" (1967); "Little Murders" (1971); "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978); "The Calling" (2014); "Alex in Wonderland" (1970); "Cerro Torre: Schrei aus Stein" (1991); "Eye of the Needle" (1981); "Kelly's Heroes" (1970); "Measure of a Man" (2018); "Hollow Point" (1996); "ITV Play of the Week" (1963–1965); "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" (2015); "A War Story" (1981); "Les liens de sang" (1978); "The Trouble with Spies" (1987); "The Hunger Games" (2012); "American Hangman" (2019); "A Time to Kill" (1996); "S*P*Y*S" (1974); "Il castello dei morti vivi" (1964); "Fanatic" (1965); "The Art of War" (2000); "Dirty Sexy Money" (2007–2009); "Free Money" (1998); "The Sullavan Brothers" (1965); "Animal House" (1978); "Salem's Lot" (2004); "Oedipus the King" (1968); "Puffball" (2007); "Red Hot" (1993); "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" (2014); "Piazza delle cinque lune" (2003); "JFK" (1991); "Threshold" (1981); "Ordeal by Innocence" (1984); "The Railway Station Man" (1992); "Ad Astra" (2019); "Don't Look Now" (1973); "Novecento" (1976); "Milton's Secret" (2016); "Bethune: The Making of a Hero" (1990); "Alien Thunder" (1974); "A Dry White Season" (1989)

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Ralph Fiennes to Play President Snow in ‘Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ (Exclusive) • May 17, 2025, 6:00 AM ET (The Hollywood Reporter)

Donald Sutherland (born July 17, 1935, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada—died June 20, 2024, Miami, Florida, U.S.) was a Canadian character actor who was equally adept at portraying heinous villains and benevolent family patriarchs. His notable films included M*A*S*H (1970), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Ordinary People (1980), and the Hunger Games series.

After graduating with dual degrees in engineering and drama from the University of Toronto, Sutherland embarked on a career on the London stage. He later appeared on such television series as The Saint, Court Martial, and The Avengers before capturing attention on the big screen with his role as the dim-witted Vernon Pinkley in The Dirty Dozen (1967). His breakout role, however, was Hawkeye Pierce, the lanky wisecracking and insubordinate surgeon in the satirical war classic M*A*S*H (1970). Another war film followed, the comedic Kelly’s Heroes (1970). In the taut Klute (1971) and Don’t Look Now (1973), he played characters who develop obsessive streaks while investigating the disappearance of a friend and the death of a daughter, respectively.

Sutherland portrayed a murderous fascist leader in the critically acclaimed Italian epic 1900 (1976) and a Nazi spy in the thriller Eye of the Needle (1981). Another classic dramatic role for Sutherland was as the tormented father in the Academy Award-winning film Ordinary People (1980). He played other paternal or avuncular film roles in A Dry White Season (1989), Cold Mountain (2003), The Italian Job (2003), Pride & Prejudice (2005; as the estimable Mr. Bennet), The Mechanic (2011), and The Eagle (2011).

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood

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In the realm of science fiction, Sutherland starred in the chilling remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and added a noteworthy gravitas to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). Other movie credits included the Canadian film Threshold (1981), for which he won a Genie Award, and the adventure thriller Space Cowboys (2000). He portrayed the president of a dystopian society in the film adaptations (2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015) of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Sutherland later had a supporting role in Ad Astra (2019), a futuristic drama in which an astronaut (played by Brad Pitt) searches the solar system for his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones). His later films included The Burnt Orange Heresy (2019), about an art heist, and the horror thriller Alone (2020).

Sutherland also appeared in a number of television productions, and he earned an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as best performer in a supporting role for his turn in the made-for-TV movie Citizen X (1995), as the commanding officer on the trail of a Russian serial killer. He also received a Golden Globe for his role in Path to War (2002). His other television work included central roles in the series Commander in Chief (2005–06), Dirty Sexy Money (2007–09), and Crossing Lines (2013–15) and in the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth (2010). He later played oil baron J. Paul Getty in the anthology series Trust (2018), the first season of which concerned the 1973 kidnapping of Getty’s grandson. In 2020 Sutherland appeared in the miniseries The Undoing, about a therapist (played by Nicole Kidman) whose seemingly perfect life begins to unravel.

Sutherland’s son Kiefer was also a noted actor.

Karen Sparks The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica