The Canadian Donald Sutherland, whose death at the age of 88 was announced yesterday, Thursday, acted in nearly 200 films and series with talented directors such as the Italian Federico Fellini (Casanova) and the Americans Robert Altman (MASH) and Oliver Stone (J.F.K.).
The versatile actor received an honorary Oscar in 2017.
These are his most notable performances, according to AFP:
1. MASH (1970)
In this antimilitarist comedy by Robert Altman, three young surgeons, including Donald Sutherland, are going to wreak havoc on a US Army base in Korea. Sent to heal the wounded, the three men, fans of women and alcohol, will participate in this cruel war with joy and good humor.
MASH it was worth it to Donald Sutherlandwho was a peace activist, a Golden Globe nomination.
2. Klute (1971)
In this thriller by Alan Pakula, full of atmospheres, Donald Sutherland plays John Klute, an enigmatic private detective who sets out to find a man missing under mysterious circumstances. During his investigation, he meets an unlikely prostitute (Jane Fonda), who is harassed on the phone by a sex maniac. Fonda, his partner at the time, received a Oscar and a Golden Globe for this role.
3. Casanova (1977)
It was not his first choice, but Federico Fellini ended up choosing Donald Sutherland to embody his vision of the “soulless and meaningless” seducer.
The director hated Casanova and the Canadian actor initially served as a release. Thus, Fellini makes him wear ostentatious makeup and shaves him to enlarge his forehead until he transforms him into an obscene puppet.
But the actor, under the director’s capricious charm, once confided to the French newspaper Libération that “the filming was, in reality, like a long sexual act.” Sutherland confessed that at the end of the film Fellini gave him “a gold watch with these words engraved: ‘With all my love, Federico.'”
“I could have ended my career at that moment,” he summarized.
4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Some microorganisms from a distant planet have arrived on Earth. Matthew (Donald Sutherland) works as an official in the health department of the city of San Francisco. Elizabeth, a collaborator of hers for whom she feels more than just professional admiration, tells her that her husband has undergone such a transformation that she is unrecognizable.
Matthew takes it as a joke, but that same day he notices that other people also feel the same suspicion towards their partners or friends. Version, with slight variations, of Don Siegel’s science fiction classic that tells of the invasion of aliens.
5. J.F.K. (1991)
The film addresses the investigation into the assassination of the American Democratic president John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK, as he was known). Sutherland plays Mr.
Oliver Stone’s film was a great success, garnering 16 nominations and five awards (Oscar, Golden Globes and Bafta), but none went to Sutherland.
6. The Hunger Games (2012-2015)
In The Hunger Games Donald Sutherland plays President Coriolanus Snow, cruel dictator of “Panem”, a nation born from the ashes of a post-apocalyptic United States. He excels as heroine Jennifer Lawrence’s relentless tormentor.
This hit film is based on the novels of the same title by Suzanne Collins.
