Donald Sutherland, the influential actor who graced film and television screens across multiple decades, has died at the age of 88, his son announced Thursday.
Kiefer Sutherland posted about his father’s death on social media, describing him as “one of the most important actors in the history of film.”
“Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly,” he wrote. “He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”
The Creative Artists Agency also announced their client’s death, saying Donald Sutherland died of a long illness in Miami, Florida.
Donald Sutherland, a Canadian born actor, rose to fame in the late 1960s and early ’70s with film roles in “The Dirty Dozen” and “M*A*S*H.” But his career has spanned so many beloved projects that he became a household name for multiple generations.
His cinematic legacy covers a breadth of genre, from dramatic thrillers such as “JFK” and “Backdraft” to comedies like “Fool’s Gold,” the 2008 romance caper starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. He also famously revealed his cheekier side in 1978’s iconic “Animal House.”
In “The Hunger Games” franchise, he portrayed the villainous Panem President Coriolanus Snow, facing off against Jennifer Lawrence as young heroine Katniss Everdeen. He also played the role of loving father in the 2005 adaptation of “Pride & Prejudice,” which starred Keira Knightley.
Sutherland also took on roles for the smaller screen, winning an Emmy for “Citizen X.” The 1995 made-for-television movie depicted the hunt for a serial killer in the Soviet Union, based on a real-life criminal case.
He graced the silver screen in recent years on shows such as “Commander in Chief,” “Crossing Lines” and “Trust.”
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