Legendary Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, perhaps best known for his work on M*A*S*H, The Hunger Games, and Ordinary People, has passed away at the age of 88 in Miami due to complications from an unnamed illness. The news comes to us from his son, Keifer Sutherland, who shared the following tweet on X/Twitter.

With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more… pic.twitter.com/3EdJB03KKT

— Kiefer Sutherland (@RealKiefer) June 20, 2024

“With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived”.

Born in 1935 in Saint John, Canada, Sutherland had polio as a child and often had intense illnesses that kept him away from school. In university, he studied engineering as well as drama, the latter obvious being where his passion would ultimately lie.

He’s had quite a prestigious career, delivering memorable roles in both film and television, culminating with some 200 acting credits to his name. His big break came in the 1967 film The Dirty Dozen, which was followed a few years later with the 1970 M*A*S*H film, where he played Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce Jr. Other notable films of his include Animal House, Ordinary People, JFK, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and the Hunger Games trilogy, where he played President Snow. He was staunchly anti-war, so much so that he was on the NSA’s watchlist in the 1970s for his views.

Despite having won Emmys and Golden Globes, he’s often cited as one of the best working actors who never won an Oscar, but was given an Honorary Oscar in 2017 for “for a lifetime of indelible characters, rendered with unwavering truthfulness.” In 1978, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and in 2019, was granted a higher tier within the OC, as a Companion of the Order. The Order of Canada is the country’s second highest honour, after the Order of Merit.

Apart from Keifer Sutherland, Donald is survived by his wife Francine Racette, sons Roeg, Rossif, and Angus, daughter Rachel, and his four grandchildren. The family will hold a private ceremony.