DONALD SUTHERLAND (Jerry O'Neil) is one of the most prolific and versatile of actors, whose offbeat elegance is evident in an astonishing array of more than 100 films.
Born in Canada, Sutherland began his multi-media career as a fledgling disc jockey, at 14, and won local acclaim for his vivid radio portrayal of Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol." His first taste of theatre came via a variety of roles in campus productions at the University of Toronto. His performance in "The Tempest" brought the attention of Toronto Globe & Mail critic Herbert Whitaker, who suggested to Sutherland that he consider an acting career, and he took the advice.
Moving to London, Sutherland studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and made the rounds of the British repertory system, making his stage debut in "August for the People," with Rex Harrison.
In 1964, producer Paul Maslansky saw Sutherland in a London West End production of "Spoon River Anthology" and signed him for his first film roles — playing two parts in "The Castle of the Living Dead." This led to roles in other horror films, including "Die! Die! My Darling," with Tallulah Bankhead, until "M.A.S.H," Sutherland's 14th film, brought him international stardom.
Sutherland primarily measures success in terms of the directors who engage him, his principle point of interest on any film project. These directors include Bernardo Bertolucci ("1900"), Alan J. Pakula ("Klute"), Nicolas Roeg ("Don't Look Now"), John Schlesinger ("The Day of the Locust"), Paul Mazursky ("Alex in Wonderland"), Robert Altman ("M.A.S.H."), Robert Aldrich ("The Dirty Dozen"), John Sturges ("The Eagle Has Landed"), Robert Redford ("Ordinary People"), Herbert Ross ("Max Dugan Returns"), Louis Malle ("Crackers"), Philip Borsos ("Bethune"), Ron Howard ("Backdraft") and Oliver Stone ("JFK").
Sutherland's numerous and wide-ranging film roles include that of a Nazi spy in "Eye of the Needle"; the compassionate, soil-spoken heart surgeon in "Threshold," which earned him the 1983 Genie Award for Best Actor, Canada's equivalent of the Oscars; and his portrayal of Paul Gauguin in "The Wolf at the Door." He turned in an unforgettable cameo appearance in the National Lampoon classic "Animal House."
He also starred in "The Rosary Murders," "Lost Angels," "Apprentice to Murder," "A Dry White Season." John Irvin's thriller "Eminent Domain," the original feature "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Benefit of the Doubt," Fred Schepisi's adaptation of "Six Degrees of Separation," Percy Adlon's "Younger and Younger," "Disclosure," "Outbreak," Joel Schumacher's adaptation of John Grisham's "A Time to Kill," "The Shadow Conspiracy" and "The Assignment." In 1998 he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Without Limits," Robert Towne s critically acclaimed film about the runner Steve Prefontaine. and was most recently seen m Jon Turteltaub's feature "Instinct," opposite Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding, Jr.
He made his American television debut in "The Winter of Our Discontent" for Hallmark Hall of Fame in 1983 and has gone on to star in several critically acclaimed television projects, among them: the CBS mini-series "The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All" and HBO's "Citizen X," for which he won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor. Last year he starred in "Behind the Mask," for CBS and "The Hunley" for TNT, with Armand Assante.
Sutherland is currently appearing at London's Savoy Theatre in "Enigmatic Variations," an English translation of the hit French play by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. The play had its American debut, with Sutherland in the starring role, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles last year, followed by a run at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, prior to its London West End production.
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