Extremely saddened to hear about the passing of Donald Sutherland, one of my all-time favorite actors and easily my favorite of the 1970s group that is (was) still around and kicking. Brilliant in absolutely every single thing I ever watched him in -- go watch Six Degrees of Separation (my personal fave) or Klute or Don't Look Now (or maybe that one is) or MASH or Invasion of the Body Snatchers (or maybe that one is) or hell his every scene in the Hunger Games movies. He was legit incapable of not spinning gold. He is far and away the best thing happening in Ordinary People and somehow he got none of the attention for it. In one of the greatest disasters that AMPAS has ever reigned over Sutherland never got a single Oscar nomination -- they finally gave him an Honorary one in 2018 but let's be real the man should've had several statues by then. I am immensely depressed that we will never see him pop up in another scene of some random movie and immediately make whatever nosnense is going on feel believable and true. This one hurts! Please tell me your favorite Sutherland performances and/or moments in the comments! What a loss.
ETA I just read that Sutherland had written a memoir before he passed, and it's set to come out in November! This makes me very happy -- it's like we'll get to spend some more time with him. Click here to pre-order it. I bet the man had some stories to tell!
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12 comments:
A true loss. Eye of the Needle was my favorite of his performances.
Don't Look Now, MASH, Six Degrees and many supporting roles like his monologue in JFK, or as Kidman's father in The Undoing and a very different type of father to Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice.
I posted a story on IG of the ending of Invasion of the Body Snatchers as a tribute and then had to call out Dont Look Now and Klute…such an impressive actor with a great long list of terrific films. Brilliant Canadian !
Hail the traveler! He was a fine actor!
The Puppet Masters ...and may the afterlife be ever in his favor
I was lucky enough to work with him a few years back, great guy.
He should have won for Ordinary People, hard to believe he wasn't even nominated. He held that pic together.
I was shocked and shaken when I heard the news yesterday since I hadn't realized he was ill and he always seemed so sprightly on screen. I shouldn't have been considering the length of his career but I was surprised that he was 88, again because he seemed so vital. But I'm glad he lived such a long and seemingly mostly happy life.
He had an odd sort of energy that he could subtly shift and be believable as the kindest of men (Ordinary People) or an outright kook (Backdraft) which of course helped in the maintenance of his career. He also saw himself as an actor not a star probably allowing him far more opportunities for longevity than a performer who insisted on only taking roles that would focus on them.
In a career as long as his it's hard to pinpoint an absolute favorite performance, though I agree that his work in Ordinary People absolutely should have rated a nomination and possibly the win.
He was often great in films that weren't, or at least not equal to the work he contributed. I'm glad the Academy did finally do right by him with an honorary (something that can't be said for Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, and now sadly they've blown their chance with Glynis Johns, among so many others)
A tough list to compile but I'd say my top 5 favorite performances of his (not his top 5 films though);
Calvin in Ordinary People (1980)
Flanders in Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
Mr. Bennet in Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Ethan Hawley in The Winter of Our Discontent (1983)
Faber in Eye of the Needle (1981)
Six Degrees of Separation. I’m always surprised more people haven’t seen that film.
And don't forget Kate Bush's video "Cloudbusting".
Klute and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But really, all of them. such a versatile performer.
I know it's standard biopic stuff and forgotten about but I think he's tremendous as Bill Bowerman in Without Limits but he was great in everything.
I had the pleasure of meeting him and having a short conversation with him at a professional gala in the late 70s in Canada. He couldn't have been more friendly and gracious and down to earth. Later I saw him on Broadway in the short lived stage adaptation of Lolita. He was great...the play....not so much. A wonderful actor and human being who will be missed.
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