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01
Being very tall, Sutherland had a habit of slouching so he could meet other actors eye to eye.
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02
He preferred to shoot the opening scenes of a movie last to better set the tone for the audience.
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03
Sutherland received a double major in engineering and drama from the University of Toronto; he originally intended to become an engineer before trying acting.
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04
He narrated the history of Canada at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and was a flag bearer of the Olympic flag.
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05
Both Sutherland and Alan Alda, who played Hawkeye Pierce on MASH 1972, suffered from polio as children.
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06
Two of his sons were named after directors he worked with: Kiefer Sutherland after Warren Kiefer who directed his first film The Castle of the Living Dead 1964, and Roeg Sutherland after Nicolas Roeg who directed him in Don’t Look Now 1973.
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07
Sutherland was so shocked by his own performance as the sadistic fascist leader in 1900 1976 that he could not watch the film for years.
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08
He had a near-death experience in 1979 when sick with meningitis; doctors said he died briefly, and he claims to have had an out-of-body experience.
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09
Sutherland had two children with Shirley Douglas: Kiefer Sutherland and Rachel Sutherland.
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10
He was a huge fan of the television series 24 2001 starring his son Kiefer as Jack Bauer and never missed an episode, but declined an offer to play Jack Bauer’s estranged father Phillip Bauer.
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11
Sutherland wore glasses and a fishing bucket hat throughout MASH 1970; this look was later mirrored by his son Kiefer in Article 99 1992.
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12
In the making-of documentary for The Dirty Dozen 1967, Sutherland said he was one of the last dozen with few lines, but when Clint Walker refused to do a scene, director Robert Aldrich chose Sutherland, expanding his role and launching his career.
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13
Sutherland played together with his son Kiefer in three movies: Max Dugan Returns 1983, Forsaken 2015, and A Time to Kill 1996.
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14
He went to England between 1958 and 1960 to study acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art LAMDA.
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15
Both Sutherland and his son Kiefer played artist Paul Gauguin.
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16
At age 14, his first part-time job was as a news correspondent for local radio station CKBW.
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17
He replaced Richard Harris as the IRA terrorist Liam Devlin in The Eagle Has Landed 1976 after Harris attended a fundraiser for the Provisional IRA.
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18
Sutherland grew up in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, where he graduated from high school.
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19
Sutherland received Companion of the Order of Canada on May 9, 2019 and was invested on November 21, 2019; the engraving on his honorary Oscar reads: For a lifetime of indelible characters, rendered with unwavering truthfulness.
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20
He was an ardent fan of the Montreal Expos baseball team since its founding; in 1983 he ordered his agent not to accept offers during the season so he could follow the team on road trips.
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21
Although several sources erroneously report marriage to Francine Racette in 1974, Sutherland stated in a May 2000 Daily Mail article that they married in August 1990 after living together for 16 years.
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22
He appeared in The Day of the Locust 1975 as a character named Homer Simpson, and later made a guest appearance on The Simpsons 1989.
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23
Originally wanting to be a sculptor, Sutherland decided to become an actor after witnessing people praise a drawing of Churchill that he thought was awful; he realized he could not make art to please others.
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24
He achieved cinematic fame in two contrasting war films: the cynical Korean War comedy MASH 1970 and the gritty World War II action film The Dirty Dozen 1967.
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25
Sutherland received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto in 2000.
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26
He and his son Kiefer were both Emmy Award winners: he won in 1996 for Citizen X 1995, and Kiefer won in 2006 for 24 2001.
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27
The producers considered Sutherland for the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs 1991.
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28
Twice he played a father grieving over a young son’s drowning: in Ordinary People 1980 and Forsaken 2015.
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29
Sutherland had three sons with Francine Racette: Roeg born 1974, Rossif born 1978, and Angus born 1982.
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30
He appeared in three films nominated for Best Picture Oscar: MASH 1970, Ordinary People 1980, and JFK 1991; Ordinary People won.
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31
He made two guest appearances on The Saint 1962, playing different characters.
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32
Sutherland received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7024 Hollywood Boulevard on January 26, 2011.
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33
He was of Clan Sutherland.
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34
He dubbed uncredited the role taken by William Devlin in The Shuttered Room 1967.
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35
When polled by the American Film Institute, Sutherland chose Great Expectations 1946 as his favorite film.
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36
He received Officer of the Order of Canada on December 18, 1978 and Commander of the Order of the Arts and Letters of France in 2012.
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37
Sutherland had English, German, and Scottish ancestry.
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38
Even though he received top billing in The Day of the Locust 1975, he did not appear in the film for the first 42 minutes.
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39
His great-grandmother through the male line was a third cousin of President Rutherford Birchard Hayes.
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40
He appeared in two films selected for the National Film Registry: MASH 1970 and National Lampoon’s Animal House 1978.
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41
In Billion Dollar Brain 1967, he provided the mechanical voice for the eponymous brain in addition to a small on-screen role.
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42
Sutherland could not accept the role of Wyatt Earp in Doctor Who 1963: The Gunfighters because of scheduling, so John Alderson took it.
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43
His son Kiefer appeared in Stand by Me 1986 based on a Stephen King story; Donald later appeared in Salem’s Lot 2004 and two Michael Crichton adaptations: The Great Train Robbery 1978 and Disclosure 1994; son Rossif appeared in Timeline 2003.
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44
Sutherland rarely worked more than once with the same director, with exceptions including Christian Duguay four films, Nicolas Roeg two, Robert Towne two, Hugh Hudson two, and Francis Lawrence three.
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45
He had two roles in common with Alan Alda: Sutherland played Flan in Six Degrees of Separation 1993, the role Alda played in an audio-book; Sutherland also played Hawkeye Pierce in MASH 1970, the role Alda played in the TV series.
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46
Dated Jane Fonda from 1970 to 1972.
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47
Attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
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48
He received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
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49
He lived in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
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50
Sutherland was a member of the UC Follies comedy troupe in Toronto.
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51
He was grandfather of Sarah Sutherland, daughter of Kiefer and Camelia Lynne.
