Donald Sutherland, a Canadian acting icon whose prolific career spanned over than six-decades, has passed away. In a statement to Playback Daily, CAA’s Missy Davy confirmed that the acclaimed actor died yesterday (June 20) in Miami, Florida after a long illness.  He was 88-years-old.

Kiefer Sutherland, his eldest son and fellow actor, wrote about his father’s his death on X: “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.”

Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Sutherland’s break-through performances in the 1967 film The Dirty Dozen and Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H catapulted him into the public eye. Throughout his lengthy career, the renowned actor starred in such iconic films as Klute, Kelly’s Heroes, Ordinary People, JFK and Ad Astra among many others.

He was introduced to a new generation of fans with turns in Pride and Prejudice (2005) and The Hunger Games film franchise, where he portrayed the villainous President Snow.

Sutherland won a Golden Globe in 2003 for the television movie Path to War and an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1996 for his performance in the mini-series Citizen X. He received a Best Actor Genie Award (now Canadian Screen Award) in 1983 for Threshold. While he never received a competitive Oscar, he received an Honorary Award from the Academy in 2017. He was named to the Order of Canada in 2019.

Sutherland often spoke of his Canadian-ness, telling CBC News, “I’m a Canadian. The thing about Canada is that you go from east to west, from Nova Scotia to Vancouver. I go away, I will go and live in Paris or I will go and live in London or whatever – [and] even in the United States – but my humour, what I am as a person is here, is rooted here.”

Sutherland is survived by his wife Francine Racette, sons Roeg, Rossif, Angus, and Kiefer, daughter Rachel, and four grandchildren. A private celebration of life will be held by the family.

Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images