With more than 140 film credits spanning six decades, Canadian-born Sutherland began his career with small roles in British and Italian films before his breakthrough in THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967). Since then he has starred in such varied films as M*A*S*H, KLUTE, DON'T LOOK NOW, DAY OF THE LOCUST, ORDINARY PEOPLE and THE HUNGER GAMES series.
1935
Donald Sutherland is born in New Brunswick, Canada.
1964
Sutherland makes his feature debut in the Italian Gothic horror film CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD, during which he meets his second wife, Shirley Douglas. They go on to have two children, Kiefer and Rachel.
1970
Robert Altman's groundbreaking wartime comedy M*A*S*H gives Sutherland his first starring role in an ensemble cast that includes Elliott Gould and Sally Kellerman. The film's overlapping dialogue style became an Altman signature.
1971
Sutherland plays the title role in Alan J. Pakula's taut suspense thriller (and love story), KLUTE, for which Jane Fonda wins a Best Actress Oscar.
1971
Musician Clint Mansell shares what it was like to learn about new directors and forms of storytelling as introduced through Sutherland's characters.
1973
Nicolas Roeg's innovative paranormal shocker DON'T LOOK NOW features Sutherland in a harrowing role opposite Julie Christie as grieving parents in Venice dealing with the loss of their child and a psychic message that could be easily misread.
1973
Producer Jonathan Cavendish calls Sutherland's performance in DON'T LOOK NOW one of his best. The terrifying film also shaped his feelings about the city of Venice.
1976
A trip to Italy provides Sutherland with standout roles for directors Federico Fellini and Bernardo Bertolucci in CASANOVA and 1900, playing one of history's most legendary lovers and a sadistic villain during Italy's decades-long class struggle.
1980
Robert Redford's Best Picture-winning ORDINARY PEOPLE gives Sutherland one of his most acclaimed leading roles as the father in a troubled family that includes Mary Tyler Moore and Timothy Hutton.
1991
Oliver Stone's sprawling political conspiracy epic JFK gives Sutherland a much-noticed supporting role as the mysterious X.
1998
Producer Paula Wagner recalls casting Sutherland as a university running coach in her film WITHOUT LIMITS.
2012
The first film in the popular THE HUNGER GAMES series opens, featuring Sutherland as President Snow, a role he would reprise in three later entries. “I hadn’t even heard of the books,” Sutherland said upon the first film's release, “but it became patently apparent to me that this was something. It was the first thing I’d read in years that could become a creative political stimulus for young people.”
2016
Donald and Kiefer Sutherland play father and son on screen for the first time in the western FORSAKEN.
2017
Donald Sutherland receives an Honorary Award from the Academy's Board of Governors. In this clip, actress Elisabeth Shue celebrates the power of his characters.