Donald Sutherland - filmography, personal life

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Donald Sutherland is one of the most famous Canadians in the US. The Hollywood actor is also revered in his homeland of Canada. Sutherland's filmography for half a century of acting career has more than 80 films. He continues to act, delighting fans of his talent with active creative longevity. The legendary actor was among 8 people at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver who were entrusted with the honorary mission of carrying the Olympic flag of the host country of the Games.

The childhood of the future actor

Donald MacNicol Sutherland was born on July 17, 1935 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. His parents were of Scottish descent with German and English genes in their ancestry. Father - Frederick McLea worked in a local energy company, and mother - Dorothy Isabelle was a housewife. At the age of 14, Donald joined the entertainment industry - he worked as a radio announcer, received $ 0.30 per hour. Already in his youth, the future Hollywood actor Donald Sutherland learned the basics of mastery. His biography includes a difficult choice that had to be made according tofinishing school. The young man could not decide which university to enter: theater or technical.

Mastering the basics of acting in your student years

Donald enrolled at the University of Toronto, where he took part in performances by an amateur theater group and was preparing to take up engineering after graduation. After reading rave reviews about his game in the city newspaper, Sutherland decided not to bury his talent in the ground. In 1956, Sutherland went to England, where he entered the London Academy of Performing Arts. Simultaneously with his studies, he played on the stages of provincial theaters and acted on television. After graduating from the theater academy, Donald Sutherland received invitations from directors only for episodic roles.

First roles

In the initial period of creativity, which lasted from 1964 to 1970, Sutherland had to play flawed and sinister characters in horror films. The directors paid attention not to the dramatic talent of the actor, but to his unusual appearance and height (194 cm). The young man had an original face and a special timbre of voice. When Sutherland arrived in Hollywood in the mid-1960s, he tried to avoid a British accent. In the films "Castle of the Living Dead" and "Doctor Terror's House of Horrors" (1965), the actor performed his first notable film roles. He worked with full dedication, investing talent and his inherent sense of humor. Son, who was born in 1966, Donald Sazarland named Kiefer in honor of Warren Kiefer, the author of the screenplay for the film "Castle of the Living Dead". Soon the actor began acting in leading roles. Came out"Oedipus Rex", "Joanna", "Kelly's Heroes" and his other films.

Comedy M. A. Sh

Sutherland's real fame was brought by the film M. A. S. ("Military field hospital", 1970). He played the role of Sergeant Hakki Pierce in this sensational "black" comedy by Robert Altman, which debunked the ideal of the "good soldier" in the mass consciousness. The highlight of the tape was the sketches and witty dialogues of three surgeon friends. The director's idea and its embodiment on the screen allowed Sutherland to fully show his talent for improvisation. Critics and viewers noted the remarkable ability of the young actor to reveal several layers of the character's character. In 1971, the actor was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy for the Golden Globe Award.

Sutherland's Acting Art

The performer appeared on the screens in the psychological thriller "Klute" in 1971. The film by Alan Pakula is dedicated to the story of a detective who went to New York in search of a missing friend. Starring Donald Sutherland.

The filmography of the 1970s is notable for the heavy workload of the actor in the shooting. But he paid maximum attention to each of his roles. The detective played by Sutherland evoked sympathy from the audience with his loneliness and disorder. Unexpectedly for himself, the law enforcement officer fell in love with a "call girl". The role was played by the incomparable Jane Fonda. The talented duo of actors gave the film the features of a deep psychological drama.

Sutherland The 1970s brought nominations for several prestigiousfilm awards (British Academy in 1974 and Saturn in 1979).

The actor's versatile talent

Anti-war film “F. T. A." the actor produced, was among the authors of the script for the tape, released in 1972. The directors saw Sutherland's dramatic talent and offered him roles that would allow him to explore the inner world of a person. He played a madman with a split personality in Nicholas Roeg's thriller Don't Look Now (1973). Together with Julie Christie, the actor starred in a frank love scene. Since that time, the Canadian actor has gained fame as a sex symbol. A new status was consolidated thanks to the films of subsequent years, in which Donald Sutherland appeared (photo). A year of work in Italy enriched the actor's experience with filming in 4 films and collaboration with outstanding directors Federico Fellini and Bernardo Bertolucci. The roles in the Italian films were positively assessed by film critics, noting the ease with which actor Donald Sutherland changes roles. In Bertolucci's "XX Century" tape, Sutherland was offered the role of the fascist Attila, full of psychologism and philosophical meaning. Raising cruelty to the rank of theory, Sutherland's character becomes a symbol of the "brown plague" that flooded the world in the 20th century. In the film Casanova Fellini, the world-famous historical figure tries to throw off the mask of a tireless lover and appear in his true guise - a man passionate about science and art.

Donald Sutherland: filmography of the last decades of the 20th century

For 20 years until the end of the millennium actorequally selflessly showed his talent in diverse roles. In Robert Redford's drama Ordinary People, he created the image of Calvin Jarrett. The story of a father helping his wife and son cope with the heavy loss won an Academy Award in 1981.

The actor in 1982 received an honorary prize at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival for his work in the Canadian science fiction film Threshold. Sutherland worked with Al Pacino in the film "Revolution", with Marlon Brando in the drama "Dry White Season". In John F. Kennedy: Shots in Dallas (1991), he appeared as Officer X, providing information on politicians in President Kennedy's entourage. Other films with Donald Sutherland from this period:

• Fire Whirlwind (1991).
• Shadow of the Wolf (1992).
• Revealed (1994).
• "The Puppeteers" (1994).
• Epidemic (1995).
• Shadow Conspiracy (1996).
• "Virus" (1999).

A new round in Sutherland's acting career

In the twenty-first millennium, a new round of popularity began in the career of an actor. He starred with other "aces" of Hollywood Clint Eastwood and Tommy Lee Jones in the film "Space Cowboys" (2000). A notable event in Sutherland's career was the second Golden Globe Award in 2002 (he received the first in 1995). He played the role of fathers in the melodrama Cold Mountain with Nicole Kidman and The Italian Job with Charlize Theron. Both films were released in 2003. The legendary actor created a brighta memorable image in the 2006 film "Country of the Blind". Significant works by Donald Sutherland from the filmography of the 2000s include The Eagle of the Ninth Legion (2011), The Hunger Games (2012) and many other films. In the sequel The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, directed by Francis Lawrence, Sutherland starred as President Coriolanus Snow. The picture received the MTV award in the nomination "Best Film" (2014). Donald Sutherland was nominated for the Leading Music Channel Award for "Best Villain". The actor intends to star in the sequel to The Hunger Games (2014, 2015).

Private life

Sutherland is a very sought after actor and plays a lot in big budget films. Almost all of his life is spent on the set. Donald, in his youth, was married to actress Lewis Hardwicke, whom he met at university. This marriage lasted 7 years. Then the actor met the daughter of a major Canadian politician Tommy Douglas - Shirley. She gave birth to Donald's twins, Rachel and Kiefer, who later became an actor. Donald Sutherland and Kiefer Sutherland are one of the most famous acting dynasties in Hollywood.

Donald Sutherland had an affair with Jane Fonda that started on set. They played together in the film "Klute", participated in the world anti-war tour. Sutherland recalls that the relationship began shortly before filming, and the breakup with Jane broke his heart. In 1972, he met French-Canadian actress Frances Rasette, with whom he married. The legendary actor considers himself incredibly lucky. “If there is real we alth in life, it is my five children,” says Sutherland.