Donald Sutherland donned smart tuxedo for Zoom interview that was his last public appearance before his death aged 88

Hollywood icon Donald Sutherland looked comfortable in the spotlight during his last public appearance before his death at the age of 88.

The actor, whose death was announced on Thursday, last spoke to the press via Zoom in March 2021 after winning a Critics Choice award for his role in HBO’s The Undoing.

Sutherland looked dapper in a tuxedo and black bow tie, with his white, shoulder-length hair down.

He discussed his role as Nicole Kidman’s father in the miniseries, which follows her character after her husband, played by Hugh Grant, is accused of murder.

When asked how he was able to have such a successful career for more than sixty years, Sutherland said it was his mentality.

He said: “I can only say – it sounds horrible and very pretentious – but it has always been the pursuit of truthfulness, the truthfulness of the character and the joy of discovering that, that has been the great happiness of my life. ‘

The veteran Canadian actor’s death from a long-term illness was announced Thursday by his movie star son Kiefer Sutherland.

He died in Miami, according to his talent agency CAA.

Further details were not immediately available.

Sutherland’s career spanned more than 60 years. He has seen a resurgence in popularity among younger audiences in recent years thanks to his role as the evil President Snow in The Hunger Games franchise.

He discussed his role as Nicole Kidman’s father in HBO’s The Undoing, which follows her character after her husband, played by Hugh Grant, is accused of murder.

The actor, whose death was announced on Thursday, last spoke to the press via Zoom in March 2021. In 2017 he can be seen with his honorary Oscar.

Kiefer Sutherland, the actor’s son, confirmed his father’s death on Thursday. Further details were not immediately available.

“Personally, I consider one of the most important actors in film history,” Kiefer Sutherland said on X. “Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and you can never ask for more than that.”

In 2022, Sutherland appeared in what would be his final projects, Lawmen: Bass Reeves and Swimming With Sharks.

Sutherland is set to star in the upcoming apocalyptic film Heart Land, which is in pre-production.

The tall and lean Canadian actor with a grin that could be sweet or devilish was known for such offbeat characters as Hawkeye Pierce in Robert Altman’s MASH, the hippie tank commander in Kelly’s Heroes and the stoned professor in Animal House.

Sutherland’s career spanned more than 60 years and he has seen a resurgence among younger audiences in recent years thanks to his role as the evil President Snow in The Hunger Games franchise.

Donald Sutherland makes a point while in a scene from the movie ‘MASH’, 1970

Before transitioning to a long career as a respected actor, Sutherland epitomized the unpredictable, anti-establishment cinema of the 1970s.

Over the decades, Sutherland showed his range in more constricted – but still eccentric – parts in Robert Redford’s Ordinary People and Oliver Stone’s JFK. More recently he starred in the Hunger Games films.

He never retired and worked regularly until his death.

A memoir, Made Up, But Still True, was due to be released in November.

His first American film was 1967’s The Dirty Dozen, in which he played Vernon Pinkley, the officer who pretends to be a psychopath.

Angus Sutherland with date, Roeg Sutherland, Donald Sutherland, Rachel Sutherland, Rossif Sutherland during the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony honoring Donald Sutherland in 2011

1970 saw the release of both Kelly’s Heroes and World War II’s MASH, a critically acclaimed hit that catapulted Sutherland to stardom.

Sutherland won an Emmy in 1995 for his role in Citizen X and was nominated for Human Trafficking in 2006, Variety reports.

The actor also won a Golden Globe for the miniseries Citizen X and for the television film Path to War.

In 2017 he received an honorary prize from the Academy.

He is also survived by his wife Francine Racette and their three adult sons. The couple is seen in 2016

Sutherland is survived by Keith and his twin sister Rachel from his marriage to ex-wife Shirley Douglas.

After marrying in 1966, he and Douglas divorced in 1971.

In 1974, the actor moved in with actress Francine Racette, with whom he remained for a long time.

They had three children: Roeg, born in 1974 and named after director Nicolas Roeg (Don’t Look Now); Rossif, born in 1978 and named after director Frederick Rossif; and Angus Redford, born in 1979 and named after Robert Redford.

Sutherland is also survived by four grandchildren.