Legendary Actor Donald Sutherland Dead at 88

Hayley Santaflorentina

June 21, 2024 at 2:31 AM·5 min read

Originally appeared on E! Online

Hollywood is mourning a huge loss.

Donald Sutherland, whose acting career spanned over seven decades, died on June 20, his son and fellow actor Kiefer Sutherland confirmed. He was 88.

"I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film," Kiefer wrote of his father in a June 20 Instagram post, over a black and white image of the two from the 24 alum's childhood. "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."

Though Kiefer didn't share a cause of death, Donald's agency CAA said in a statement to NBC News that he passed away after a long illness.

E! News has reached out to reps for both Donald and Kiefer but has not yet heard back.

Across his many years in Hollywood, Donald—who was also father to sons Roeg, Rossif, Angus, as well as daughter Rachel—earned numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe for Citizen X in 1995, a Golden Globe for Path to War in 2002, and a Critics Choice Award in 2020 for The Undoing.

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In 2017, Donald was awarded with an honorary Academy Award for his lifetime achievements. Ahead of the ceremony, the Animal House actor recalled the moment he received a phone call from friend and then-president of The Academy John Bailey, while he sat on a balcony in Rome eating spaghetti with his wife Francine Racette, whom he married in 1972.

Donald Sutherland — JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images

"He said, 'I'm calling to congratulate you,'" Donald told E! News at the time. "And he said I was going to receive this Honorary Academy Award. He knew Francine, my wife, so he spoke to Francine and told her, and then we hung up, and then we sat there, and then we didn't say anything."

The St. John, Canada, native continued with a laugh, "And my wife turned to me, and she said, 'We're gonna have to lose weight.'"

After studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Donald's acting career began in the 1960s, during which he got small roles in films and TV shows, such as 1964's Castle of the Living Dead. He then got his big break in the 1967 film The Dirty Dozen, before moving to Hollywood.

Some of the actor's most notable works included his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the 1970 film M*A*S*H, the 1978 hits Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Animal House as well as the Oscar-winning drama Ordinary People. Later in his career, he starred in 2003's The Italian Job, 2005's Pride and Prejudice and, more recently, The Hunger Games franchise alongside Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson.

The Hunger Games, Donald Sutherland — Lionsgate/Color Force/Kobal/Shutterstock

The villainous President Snow was a role he sought out himself, having fallen in love with the script and character.

"Nobody asked me to do it," Donald told GQ in 2014. "I wasn't offered it. I like to read scripts, and it captured my passion. I wrote them a letter. The role of the president had maybe a line in the script. Didn't make any difference. I thought it was an incredibly important film, and I wanted to be a part of it."

He continued, "I hadn't read the books. To be truthful, I was unaware of them. But they showed my letter to the director, Gary Ross, and he thought it'd be a good idea if I did it. He wrote those wonderfully poetic scenes in the rose garden, and they formed the mind and wit of Coriolanus Snow."

In 2018, Donald reflected on his eclectic career and the choices he'd made to take on roles that stood out to him.

"Normally, with people who have a vertically organized career, it's because they have an ambition for success and a desire to establish themselves as an entity within this industry," he told USA Today. "I've always had a horizontally organized career. You've got a big plate of fruit and cheese, and you can take a piece here and there. You won't like all of it, but you'll like some of it."

In addition to his children and wife, Donald is survived by four grandchildren. Keep reading for his life in photos.

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