# RIP Donald Sutherland **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [June 20, 2024, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127 "2024-06-20T17:48:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/41 "2024-06-21T05:55:12Z")
A fantastic actor. I always enjoyed his work. Thank you, Donald Sutherland. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/42 "2024-06-21T06:00:58Z")
Towards the end of his career, he played plenty of older male parts, and always well; and always well-gauged to the material: subtle and nuanced for serious pieces, or over-the-top for the more sensational stuff. But it’s unfortunate that he never had the opportunity to put in a truly great “old man” performance as other actors had. Melvyn Douglas in Hud, Bruce Dern in Nebraska, Christopher Plummer and Max Von Sydow. Even character actors like Leon Ames in Peggy Sue Got Married. Every great actor and their audience should have that chance. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/43 "2024-06-21T11:22:21Z")
My favourite role of his was in The Dirty Dozen (which I loved as a kid). I also liked the remake of The Italian Job, although his part was fairly short. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/44 "2024-06-21T11:37:54Z")
The first thing I recall seeing him in was a 1967 episode of _The Avengers_ – “The Superlative Seven”. It must’ve made a deep impression, because I recalled seeing hi in it after I became familiar with him in the movies (unlike some of his other early work, where I didn’t realize he was even in the film until I read cast lists years later – _Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors_, _The Bedford Incident_) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/45 "2024-06-21T13:37:14Z")
A forgotten role of his. The head of the agency fighting alien parasites in “The Puppet Masters”. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/46 "2024-06-21T14:02:34Z")
I did mention it in passing. He was the best part of that meh movie. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/47 "2024-06-21T14:34:10Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Mr. Sutherland was great in _Kelly’s Heroes_ as Oddball, but the character was too much of an anachronism to be truly enjoyable. It may have been an anachronism but I can assure you the role was beloved by those who tank for a living. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/48 "2024-06-21T14:57:31Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I did mention it in passing. He was the best part of that meh movie. I mentiomned it, too. But my favorite bit of casting was having noted conspiracy lover Richard Belzer as a member of the agency hunting hidden aliens …and having him actually being an alien. I suspect _Puppet Masters_ was another movie that he took for the money. Not that he wasn’t good in it, but it’s not his usual genre. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/49 "2024-06-21T15:10:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I suspect _Puppet Masters_ was another movie that he took for the money. Not that he wasn’t good in it, but it’s not his usual genre. Though it was similar enough to _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ that it was almost a nod to his earlier role. I read somewhere, back then, he was a fan of Heinlein and thusly took the role. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/50 "2024-06-21T16:21:55Z")
He starred in a quite enjoyable series with William Fichtner called _Crossing Lines_. It was a conceptually dopey procedural (a great-looking multinational team of pros solving crimes around the EU) but it was still pretty fun. You could tell Sutherland was enjoying himself. Sadly, Netflix Canada lost the show after I’d only watched the first season, but hopefully I’ll get to finish it off. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/51 "2024-06-21T16:48:52Z")
Sutherland was huge for a while in the early 1970s, and I’ve followed his career closely since then. Just the other night, I rewatched Eye of The Needle and he was very good in it. Not the greatest casting (he was playing a Brit born in Germany, or something of the sort, but with his usual Canadian accent) and I found the movie (a spy thriller with a woman-in-jeopardy angle) a bit misogynistic. But he was great at playing cold fish types, and this was one. He was also good in a small role in Disclosure. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/52 "2024-06-21T19:46:31Z")
> [@GailForce](#): > > … he was great at playing cold fish types … In stark (to me) contrast to his performance in _The Great Train Robbery_, which went right up to the line of overplaying and may have put a toe over in places. But he did seem to be enjoying himself. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/53 "2024-06-21T22:12:06Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > I don’t know how many times, in moments of despair at work, I’ve said, “I’m not joking - this is my job!” And here I thought I was the only one who did that! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/54 "2024-06-22T14:14:17Z")
Donald never lost his enthusiasm for acting and creating memorable characters. Donald had a lifetime resume of respected work. But he still pitched himself for the Hunger Games. He mentions drawing from _Eye of the Needle_ for President Snow. > **[Read Donald Sutherland’s letter that helped late actor land President Snow's...](https://news.meaww.com/read-donald-sutherlands-letter-that-helped-late-actor-land-iconic-role-of-president-snow-in-the-hunger-games)** > > The letter was made available to fans as part of the 2012 DVD release of the movie ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/55 "2024-06-22T16:28:19Z")
I’ve loved pretty much all of his roles, but [his scene in JFK](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSw9sjqYK_I) was truly captivating, and as far as I’m concerned, the best part of the entire movie. It was Oscar-worthy in my opinion, but they were probably reluctant to nominate him for such a short amount of screen time. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/56 "2024-06-22T16:48:35Z")
They should have, though. They gave one to Judi Dench for a super brief appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/57 "2024-06-22T17:11:05Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > > [@carrps](#): > > > > I just remembered how good he was in that HBO series _Citizen X_ about the serial killer Chikatilo. > > > > Very nuanced performance. > > I was going to mention this one, so I’ll just nitpick that it wasn’t a series, it was an HBO feature. > > Terrific performances also by Stephen Rea, Max von Sydow, and Jeffrey DeMunn as the serial killer. This is my favorite scene from it. If someone hasn’t seen the movie it doesn’t appear like much is happening but in context with what has gone on before between these characters it’s very powerful. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lRaL30ur_78/hqdefault.jpg "Citizen X Best Scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRaL30ur_78) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/58 "2024-06-22T23:32:34Z")
Good interview. I don’t remember seeing Sutherland on talk shows. He seemed pretty private. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9teOXRgx8EU/maxresdefault.jpg "Donald Sutherland | 60 Minutes Archive") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9teOXRgx8EU) ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/59 "2024-06-23T18:47:45Z")
That clip absolutely breaks my heart. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2024, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127/60 "2024-06-23T19:11:35Z")
I never saw Donald Sutherland and thought he was ugly at all. All the way from MASH to Hunger Games, he seemed like not the most handsome man in the movies, but 100% _not_ ugly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-donald-sutherland/1003127.md?page=4)