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The world lost one of its great actors yesterday with the passing of Donald Sutherland. With 200 film and TV credits to his name throughout his career, Sutherland touched millions of fans and also performed with some of the biggest stars during multiple generations of Hollywood. Now those stars are paying tribute to the man they worked with, the man they called friend, or simply the man they idolized.
Back in 1993, Will Smith appeared in his first dramatic film role, and one of Smith’s best performances, in Six Degrees of Separation. He had scenes opposite Sutherland in that film and Smith posted shots of the two of them together on Instagram to pay tribute to the star.
Jane Fonda, who appeared opposite Sutherland in her Oscar-winning role in Klute shared a heartfelt tribute to Sutherland. On Instagram, She celebrated the man’s skills as an actor as well as the work they shared off-screen, including the controversial work of speaking out against the Vietnam War.
Sutherland began his acting career in the early 1960s and over the next 60 years he would put together one of the most impressive filmographies in memory. One of his contemporaries who would have a similar career is Dame Helen Mirren. She gave a statement to THR in which she credited Sutherland’s intelligence as an actor and called him not only a colleague but a friend. She said…
Donald Sutherland was one of the smartest actors I ever worked with. He had a wonderful enquiring brain, and a great knowledge on a wide variety of subjects. He combined this great intelligence with a deep sensitivity, and with a seriousness about his profession as an actor. This all made him into the legend of film that he became. He was my colleague and became my friend. I will miss his presence in this world.
Edgar Wright is a writer and director with a particular love of film history, and while he may have never worked with Donald Sutherland, he celebrated the man’s body of work in a few few others could. He called out not only Sutherland’s great work that we all know, but a few of the actor’s lesser known pieces.
RIP the great Donald Sutherland, a favourite actor and always fascinating screen presence. He starred in two of my very favourite and most influential films – ‘Don’t Look Now’ and the 1978 ‘Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers’. But that is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of his… pic.twitter.com/HzRHIGd2ovJune 20, 2024
Rob Lowe is an actor of the generation that came up with Donald Sutherland’s son, Keifer. In Lowe’s tribute he specifically sends condolences to his friend, while making sure his followers know what may be Donald Sutherland’s greatest work.
Today we lost one of our greatest actors, Donald Sutherland. It was my honor to work with him many years ago, and I will never forget his charisma and ability. If you want a master class in acting, watch him in “Ordinary People”. My condolences to Kiefer.
Not everybody paying tribute to Donald Sutherland, however, ever worked with the actor. Donald Sutherland’s most well-known role to the modern public is likely that of Cornelius Snow in the Hunger Games movies, a role Sutherland fought hard to get. Tom Blythe recently played the same role as part of the cast of the Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and while the two unfortunately never met, Blythe clearly thinks the world of his predecessor and on Instagram called it an “honor” to have shared a role with him.
Donald Sutherland came about as close to mastering the craft of acting as anyone gets. So many genius performances. I never had the honor of knowing him personally, but it was the honor of a lifetime to follow in his footsteps. Thank you sir for birthing one of the great movie characters of all time
Considering how long and successful Donald Sutherland’s career was, he touched many lives, which means that there are many whose lives and careers he impacted. And that’s not even mentioning the millions of us who watched his work and were inspired by it. Donald Sutherland left a lot of friends and fans behind, but he will clearly never be forgotten.