Despite his status as one of the world’s great screen stars, there remains much of the Maritime lad he once was in Donald Sutherland – generous, soft-spoken, keenly intelligent, and endlessly curious.
Three years into his studies in the engineering program at the University of Toronto, Sutherland agreed to appear in a campus production of Edward Albee’s The Male Animal. Immediately he knew he’d found his life’s work. Throughout the late ’50s and ’60s, Sutherland struggled to gain a foothold in film, appearing in films such as Castle Of The Living Dead and Dr. Terror’s House Of Horrors.
If it hadn’t been for Christopher Plummer, fans might have been denied the gift of Sutherland’s art. In 1968, he was earning his first decent film notice for a small but impressive part in The Dirty Dozen. His agent urged him to try his luck in Hollywood. But Sutherland was dead broke. Plummer supplied the needed cash for the move south, and soon afterward, Sutherland landed the role of surgeon Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H.
M*A*S*H emerged as one of the biggest artistic and popular successes of 1970, and critics were quick to herald Sutherland an “overnight” sensation, conveniently ignoring the fact that he’d already been toiling as a professional actor for nearly two decades.
Sutherland’s list of film credits expanded to include more than 100 roles. From The Dirty Dozen to Ordinary People, JFK to Bethune, Sutherland’s performances are as varied as they are strong – he has never opted for safe or easy choices. For Sutherland, it’s never been about fame or fortune – even though, with typical humility, he insists he’s just a mortgage-paying father of five.
He was awarded the OC (Officer of the Order of Canada) by the Governor General of Canada on December 18, 1978.
