The 7 best Donald Sutherland movies – and where to watch them-Laura Harman-Entertainment – Metro

The actor died this week (Picture: REX)

A breakdown of some of Donald Sutherland’s best films, following the actor’s death at age 88.

The Hollywood legend died on June 20 in Miami, Florida, after a ‘long illness’ a representative confirmed. 

Sutherland’s son, Kiefer Sutherland, announced his father’s passing on social media with a black-and-white image of his late parent.

‘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,’ read the emotive message. 

The late actor had a long career that spanned from the 1960s and into the 2020s with his most recent role taking place in 2023.

The actor’s formidable career is full of impressive performances, Metro.co.uk breaks down some of his most loved roles. 

M*A*S*H (1970)

The actor was 35 in the film (Picture: 20th Century Fox/Aspen/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

In M*A*S*H, Sutherland played Capt. Benjamin Franklin ‘Hawkeye’ Pierce Jr in this American dark comedy film set during the Korean War.

The actor plays a surgeon who is trying to stay sane on the front line by throwing martini parties and playing practical jokes while the fighting continues around him.

The film won an Oscar for best original screenplay and spawned a spin-off series with the same name.

M*A*S*H is available to purchase or rent on Amazon, Apple TV and YouTube.

The Hunger Games (2012)

The actor was 77 when the first film of the franchise was released (Picture: Lionsgate/Color Force/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

For younger audiences, this is one of the actor’s most well-known roles as he played the series’s villain, President Snow.

In this role, the actor played the leader of Panem who enforced and controlled the Hunger Games, the tournament that forced children to kill one another.

The actor appeared in all four films in the franchise which was a smash hit with fans and made $695.2 million (£549 million GBP) against a budget of $78 million (£61 million).

The Hunger Games franchise is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

The actor starred alongside Leonard Nimoy and Jeff Goldblum in the film (Picture: United Artists/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a 1978 American science-fiction horror film in which Sutherland plays a public health inspector who slowly realises that the people around him have been replaced with duplicates.

The film is a remake of the 1956 film and is best known for Sutherland’s pointing finger image which was a viral meme and is still used today.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is available to purchase or rent on Amazon, Apple TV and YouTube.

Don’t Look Now (1973)

The was incredibly influential to horror filmmakers (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

Don’t Look Now is a psychological thriller that stars Sutherland and Julie Christie as a married couple who attempt to contact their dead daughter with the help of a clairvoyant.

Although the film wasn’t well received initially upon its release, it is now considered a key influential film in horror cinema. 

Don’t Look Now is available to purchase or rent on Amazon, Apple TV and YouTube.

Kelly’s Heroes (1970)

The action comedy from the 70s had an all-star cast (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

In this film, Sutherland plays a comic role as ‘Oddball’ one of the members of a crew of American GIs (including Clint Eastwood) who decide to go AWOL during WW2 and steal nazi gold from a French bank located behind German lines.

The earlier role from Sutherland was a huge success and rather different from some of his more serious roles in later life. 

Kelly’s Heroes is available to purchase or rent on Amazon, Apple TV and YouTube.

The Dirty Dozen (1967)

The film featured an ensemble cast (Picture: Mgm/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

In The Dirty Dozen, Sutherland plays Vernon L. Pinkley, an officer recruited into a mission during World War II.

In the film, the soldiers in the mission are men on death row for various crimes who are trained to parachute across enemy lines and assassinate German personnel.

The film was a massive commercial success and was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1967 and MGM’s highest-grossing film of the year.

The Dirty Dozen is available to purchase or rent on Amazon, Apple TV and YouTube.

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

The actor claims Pride and Prejudice was one of his favourite roles (Picture: Alex Bailey/Working Title/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

In the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen, Sutherland played Mr Bennett the father of the Bennett children in the Austen adaptation.

While he wasn’t leading the film, his performance as the gentle, kind father of five delighted fans – even though he once revealed that he tried to quit the role.

Speaking to The Rolling Stone, the actor said: ‘I kept trying to quit that damned job. Joe [Wright, the director] wouldn’t let me! “Joe, goddammit, I’m not right for this, why the f**k did you hire me for this?” “You’re fine, you can do it.” 

‘It’s one of my favourite things out of all of the movies I’ve done,’ he said.

Pride and Prejudice is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and Netflix.

The actor appeared in around 90 movies in his lifetime. Other career highlights include The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Animal House (1978), The First Great Train Robbery (1978), Ordinary People (1980), Eye of the Needle (1981), Ad Astra (2019), Alone (2020), and Miranda’s Victim (2023).

The actor will be playing a character named Rick in the film Heart Land, a thriller focused on a group of children trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic landscape.

This is Sutherland’s final role and is set to be released posthumously at a date yet to be confirmed.

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