Legendary Canadian actor Donald Sutherland dies at 88

Legendary Canadian actor Donald Sutherland has passed away at the age of 88.

In a post on X, actor Kiefer Sutherland wrote a touching tribute to his late father, announcing the news.

“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 post on X.

He was born in New Brunswick before moving to Nova Scotia in his teenage years, but left the Maritimes for higher education — first at the University of Toronto and later in England — where he pursued his passion for acting.

He broke through in Hollywood with a small role in the 1967 World War II classic “The Dirty Dozen,” and broke big with a starring role as Hawkeye Pierce in Robert Altman’s “M.A.S.H.”

Sutherland became a major figure in the New Hollywood of the 1970s who has worked steadily since, he was long considered among the best actors never to have been nominated for an Academy Award, despite appearing in several films that won the biggest of them.

He was given an honorary Oscar for career achievement in 2017. He also has an Emmy and two Golden Globes.

Sutherland also became a member of the Order of Canada in 2019 and was more recently honoured with a Canada Post stamp bearing his likeness, that was unveiled last October.

He also was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2000.

With files from the Canadian Press