Donald Sutherland was the award-winning thespian who has starred in dozens of titles throughout his career before his death on June 20, 2024. Let's take a look back at 16 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Despite decades of acclaimed work, the Canadian-born star has yet to earn an Oscar nomination, though he did receive an honorary statuette for his body of work in 2017. The Golden Globes recognized him with nominations for "M*A*S*H" (Best Comedy Actor in 1970), "Ordinary People" (Best Drama Actor in 1980) and "Without Limits" (Best Supporting Actor in 1998), so it certainly wasn't for lack of good options. Additionally, he reaped a joint BAFTA bid in 1973 for his performances in "Don't Look Now" and "Steelyard Blues." Since Sutherland continues to land juicy roles to this day, perhaps his overdue Oscar narrative could pay off sooner than we think.
On the TV side, Sutherland won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his supporting performance in the TV Movie "Citizen X" (1996). He earned an additional Globe as Best TV Supporting Actor for "Path to War" (2002), competing again for "Commander in Chief" (2005) and "Dirty Sexy Money" (2007) in supporting and "Human Trafficking" (2005) in lead. "Human Trafficking" brought him another Emmy bid as Best Movie/Mini Actor.
Tour our photo gallery of Sutherland's best movies, including some of the titles listed above, as well as "Klute," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "JFK," "The Hunger Games" franchise and more.
-
16. SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION (1993)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Director: Fred Schepisi. Writer: John Guare, based on his play. Starring Will Smith, Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland, Ian McKellen, Mary Beth Hurt, Bruce Davison, Richard Masur, Anthony Michael Hall, Heather Graham.
Perhaps best known for being the movie that helped launch Will Smith’s big screen career, this Fred Schepisi-helmed satire nevertheless features stellar work from Sutherland and Stockard Channing, who reaped an Oscar nomination as Best Actress. Adapted from John Guare’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated play, the film stars Sutherland and Channing as an affluent New York couple who fall under the spell of a young man (Smith) claiming to be Sidney Poitier’s son. Turns out they’re just the latest victims of a duplicitous con man scheming his way through the Upper East Side.
-
15. A TIME TO KILL (1996)
Image Credit: Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Director: Joel Schumacher. Writer: Akiva Goldsman, based on the novel by John Grisham. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt, Charles S. Dutton, Brenda Fricker, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland.
In this Joel Schumacher-directed adaptation of John Grisham’s bestselling novel, Sutherland plays Lucien Wilbanks, a once-prominent civil rights lawyer who joins a legal team led by an upstart lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) defending an African American man (Samuel L. Jackson) convicted of murdering two white men who raped and beat his daughter. The film also stars Sutherland’s son, Kiefer, as Freddie Lee Cobb, the racist brother of one of the murdered men who enlists the Ku Klux Klan to avenge his sibling’s death.
-
14. SPACE COWBOYS (2000)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Director: Clint Eastwood. Writers: Ken Kaufman, Howard Klausner. Starring Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner, James Cromwell, Marcia Gay Harden.
It may sound silly on paper, but this geezers-in-space comedy is one of Sutherland’s most entertaining films. Eastwood stars as Frank Corvin, a retired NASA engineer who’s enlisted to rescue a failing satellite. He agrees, but only if his old teammates (Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones, and James Garner) come along with him. More than just “Armageddon” for geriatrics, this high-concept premise allows the four veteran actors to have the time of their lives, and offers definitive proof that gettin’ old ain’t for sissies.
-
13. THE HUNGER GAMES (2012)
Image Credit: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock Director: Gary Ross. Writers: Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, Billy Ray, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, Toby Jones.
Sutherland because known to a new generation of filmgoers with his performance in “The Hunger Games.” Based on the bestselling young adult book series by Suzanne Collins, the film centers on Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place in a televised competition that forces teenagers to fight to the death, known as The Hunger Games. Sutherland plays President Coriolanus Snow, the autocratic ruler of the dystopian society of Panem. The actor would reprise his role in the three highly successful sequels.
-
12. AD ASTRA (2019)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Directed by James Gray. Written by James Gray and Ethan Gross. Starring Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland.
Sutherland pops up for a memorable supporting turn in James Gray’s haunting and medatative sci-fi epic. Set in the not-to-distant future, “Ad Astra” stars Brad Pitt as an astronaut who must journey through space to find his father (Tommy Lee Jones), who went missing 30 years ago and is now threatening to destroy the universe. Sutherland plays Colonel Thomas Pruitt, who joins Pitt on his mission to a lunar warzone. The film earned an Oscar nomination for its sound mixing.
-
11. PRIDE & PREJUDICE (2005)
Image Credit: Alex Bailey/Working Title/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Director: Joe Wright. Writer: Deborah Moggach, based on the novel by Jane Austin. Starring Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Tom Hollander, Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan, Jena Malone, Judi Dench.
Keira Knightley received an Oscar nomination as Best Actress for this adaptation of Jane Austin’s beloved novel, directed by Joe Wright. She plays Elizabeth Bennett, a witty, stubborn young woman whose mother (Brenda Blethyn) hopes to marry off before her father (Sutherland) dies. She falls in love with Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), who believes in superior birth.
-
10. THE DAY OF THE LOCUST (1975)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Director: John Schlesinger. Writer: Waldo Salt, based on the novel by Nathanial West. Starring Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, Burgess Meredith, William Atherton, Geraldine Page, Richard Dysart.
Dividing critics and audiences upon its release, John Schlesinger’s bizarre Hollywood satire is now remembered as one of the seminal films of the 1970s. Sutherland stars as Homer Simpson (no, not THAT Homer Simpson), a soft-spoken, sexually-repressed accountant who moves to Los Angeles in the 1930s and falls under the spell of Faye Greener (Karen Black), an aspiring actress whose looks can’t make up for her lack of talent. Despite its mixed reaction, the film reaped Oscar nominations for Burgess Meredith as Best Supporting Actor and for Conrad L. Hall’s evocative cinematography.
-
9. THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967)
Image Credit: MGM/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Director: Robert Aldrich. Writers: Nunnally Johnson, Lukas Heller, based on the novel by E.M. Nathanson. Starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, George Kennedy, Robert Ryan, Richard Jaeckel.
One of Sutherland’s most memorable early movie performances was in Robert Aldrich’s violent WWII action epic “The Dirty Dozen.” Based on the novel by E.M Nathanson, the story centers on Maj. Reisman (Lee Marvin), who is tasked with leading twelve convicted murderers into a mass assassination mission of German officers. Sutherland plays Vernon Pinkley, serving 30 years in prison before receiving his assignment. An Oscar-winner for Best Sound Effects, the film served as a major influence for Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” (2009).
-
8. A DRY WHITE SEASON (1989)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Director: Euzhan Palcy. Writers: Colin Welland, Euzhan Palcy, based on the novel by Andre P. Brink. Starring Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman, Zakes Mokae, Susan Sarandon, Marlon Brando.
A powerful look at apartheid, this 1989 drama stars Sutherland as a school teacher whose worldview is shaken when his gardener’s son is brutally beaten by the police while peacefully protesting for better treatment of black students in South Africa. He enlists a prominent lawyer (Marlon Brando, in an Oscar-nominated performance) to help bring the matter to trial, inspiring the ire of the white law enforcers.
-
7. JFK (1991)
Image Credit: SNAP/REX/Shutterstock Director: Oliver Stone. Writers: Oliver Stone, Zachary Sklar, based on the books by Jim Garrison and Jim Marrs. Starring Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Oldman, Michael Rooker, Jay O. Sanders, Sissy Spacek, Edward Asner, Jack Lemmon, Donald Sutherland, Joe Pesci, Walter Matthau, Vincent D’Onofrio, John Candy, Wayne Knight, Sally Kirkland.
Sutherland makes a brief yet memorable appearance in Oliver Stone’s paranoia-laced political thriller. He plays X, a shadowy colonel in the US Air Force who advises New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) about the government’s involvement in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The film, which won Oscars for its cinematography and film editing, remains controversial well after its release for its mixture of true events and conspiracy theories surrounding JFK’s mysterious death.
-
6. WITHOUT LIMITS (1998)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Director: Robert Towne. Writers: Robert Towne, Kenny Moore. Starring Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland, Monica Potter, Jeremy Sisto, Matthew Lillard, Dean Norris.
Sutherland received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actor for this true life drama from writer/director Robert Towne. He plays Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, who coached legendary record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine (Billy Crudup). Under Bowerman’s guidance, Prefontaine made it to the 1972 Olympics in Munich before his life was cut tragically short by a car accident at the age of 24. Sutherland lost the Golden Globe to Ed Harris (“The Truman Show”), who was eventually bested at the Oscars by James Coburn (“Affliction”).
-
5. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)
Image Credit: United Artists/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Director: Philip Kaufman. Writer: W.D. Richter, based on the novel by Jack Finney. Starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy.
A rare remake that holds up to the original, Philip Kaufman’s re-imagining of Don Siegel’s 1956 sci-fi thriller stars Sutherland as a San Francisco health inspector who discovers that humans are being replaced by alien duplicates. Siegel makes a cameo appearance in the film, as does Kevin McCarthy, who played Sutherland’s role in the original classic.
-
4. KLUTE (1971)
Image Credit: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock Director: Alan J. Pakula. Writers: Andy Lewis, David E. Lewis. Starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Roy Scheider.
When a Philadelphia executive turns up missing, it’s up to small-town detective John Klute (Sutherland) to track him down, but not without the help of a prostitute (Jane Fonda) who received several obscene letters from him. Fonda won the first of two Best Actress Oscars for the film, which also competed for its original screenplay. For Pakula, “Klute” represents the first of his unofficial “paranoia trilogy,” which also included the political thrillers “The Parallax View” and “All the Presidents Men.”
-
3. DON’T LOOK NOW (1973)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Director: Nicolas Roeg. Writers: Allan Scott, Chris Bryant, based on the short story by Daphne Du Maurier. Starring Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato.
Nicolas Roeg’s adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s chilling short story casts Sutherland and Julie Christie as a married couple who travel to Venice following the accidental death of their young daughter. They encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom claims to be psychic and informs them that their daughter is trying to communicate from beyond the grave and warn them of danger. Filled with haunting and operatic images, “Don’t Look Now” continues to scare audiences over 40 years after its release. Although ignored by the Academy, it did receive seven BAFTA nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress, winning for its cinematography.
-
2. M*A*S*H (1970)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox/Aspen/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Director: Robert Altman. Writer: Ring Lardner, Jr., based on the novel by Richard Hooker. Starring Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Roger Bowen, Rene Auberjonois, David Arkin, Jo Ann Pflug, Gary Burghoff, Fred Williamson, Michael Murphy.
Before there was the long-running television series, there was Robert Altman’s raucous, scatological medical comedy. Set during the Korean War (with echoes of Vietnam), the film centers on the staff at a field hospital who use humor and high jinks to get through the day. Sutherland received his first Golden Globe nomination as Best Comedy Actor for playing Hawkeye Pierce, a brilliant surgeon who prefers golfing and sipping martinis with his pals Trapper John (Elliott Gould) and Duke (Tom Skerritt) to sewing up soldiers. An Oscar-winner for Best Adapted Screenplay, the film launched the careers of its ensemble cast and established Altman as one of the most important filmmakers of the 1970s. It lost Best Picture and Best Director to a more traditional war film from 20th Century Fox, Franklin J. Schaffner’s “Patton.”
-
1. ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Director: Robert Redford. Writer: Alvin Sargent, based on the novel by Judith Guest. Starring Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton, M. Emmet Walsh, Elizabeth McGovern.
Sutherland received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Drama Actor for Robert Redford’s Best Picture winner. He plays Calvin, the good-natured patriarch of an affluent family struggling to hold his bitter wife (Mary Tyler Moore) and guilt-ridden son (Timothy Hutton) together following the accidental death of the eldest son. Sutherland was the lone member of the main cast to miss out at the Academy Awards (Hutton beat co-star Judd Hirsch in Best Supporting Actor, while Moore competed in Best Actress; the film also won for Redford’s direction and Alvin Sargent’s screenplay). He lost the Globe to eventual Oscar-victor Robert De Niro (“Raging Bull”).
