'The Hunger Games' makers pay tribute to 'kindest' Donald Sutherland who portrayed ruthless President Snow

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Donald Sutherland, known for his portrayal of the villainous President Snow in all four 'The Hunger Games' films, died at the age of 88 on June 20 in Miami after a prolonged illness. After his death, Kiefer Sutherland shared a tribute to Donald and later 'The Hunger Games' also paid tribute to the late actor.

Donald is survived by five children, including his 24-year-old son Kiefer Sutherland, whom he had with ex-wife actress Shirley Douglas, as well as five grandchildren. Donald, born on July 17, 1935, was previously married to Lois Hardwick before marrying actress Francine Racette in 1971. He and Racette had three children together - Roeg, Rossif, and Angus. He also had a daughter, Rachel, with Shirley Douglas, who died in 2020 at the age of 86.

'The Hunger Games' pays tribute to Donald Sutherland

'The Hunger Games' posted on their official X account, a heartfelt message about the late actor and his remarkable talent. They post read, "We asked the kindest man in the world to portray the most corrupt, ruthless dictator we’ve ever seen. Such was the power and skill of Donald Sutherland’s acting that he created one more indelible character among many others that defined his legendary career." 

The message further read, "We are privileged to have known and worked with him, and our thoughts are with his family."

Who was Donald Sutherland?

Donald is well-known for his roles as Mr Bennet in 2005 film 'Pride and Prejudice' with Keira Knightley and Hawkeye Pierce in the 1970s "M*A*S*H." 

He also had numerous notable film roles in movies like 'Ordinary People' (1980) and 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1978), as well as playing the villainous President Snow in all four 'The Hunger Games' movies with Jennifer Lawrence. 

His recent roles include television series like 'The Undoing,' 'Trust,' and 'Swimming with Sharks', as per People.

He won an Emmy for the 1995 TV movie 'Citizen X' and received an Honorary Academy Award in 2017 "for a lifetime of indelible characters, rendered with unwavering truthfulness," despite never being nominated for a competitive Oscar. 

His career, which took off after the 1967 film 'The Dirty Dozen,' was marked by his acceptance speech where he expressed that the award "is very important to me, to my family."

Donald said about his role, "It's like a door has opened and a cool, wonderfully fresh breath of air has come in. I wish I could say thank you to all of the characters that I've played, thank them for using their lives to inform my life. I'd love to be able to thank the multitude of people who are responsible for me being here."  

He also shared about his wife, "And, of course, thank you to Francine Racette, from whom everything has come — that's my family — from whom everything has come, and to whom everything is owed. I have been a partner to her for over 45 years, and in all that she has supported me with her intelligence, her intuition, her instruction, her ability to make me laugh in the direst of situations, her extraordinary sense of taste, her residual belief in me." 

Donald concluded, "Amongst all of these, her ability to absorb and sustain the extraordinary ups and downs of this crazy movie life we have gone through. I mean, she deserves a medal for that. So, Francine, I'm going to get you a medal."

'The Hunger Games' director Gary Ross praises 'wonderful' Donald Sutherland

Gary Ross, who directed the first 'Hunger Games' film, spoke to THR in a statement about Sutherland, as per Hollywood Reporter.

Ross claimed, "Donald. He was just so wonderful. Kind, gracious, and thoughtful–and so well-read. He had Prufrock memorized, and he’d give me sections of it, out loud, like a book on tape. More than anything there was this loving enthusiasm for the work. It wasn’t enough to do just do the job–he had to feel the job and he wanted you to feel it all with him in every second."

Ross said, "I’ve told the story before, but there was one moment when we were shooting 'Hunger Games' where he sent me a letter about his part as President Snow. It was the creation of a whole character—much more than I’d put on the page: his motivations… his backstory…. what he meant to the narrative…. how a fascist is born, and what that means. I was so floored by the depth and sophistication of it that I stopped shooting, grabbed a folding chair, went down by the side of the lake and wrote two new scenes. Those are the scenes that remain in the final movie, and, for me, they capture all the beautiful ways I remember him."

Fans pay tribute to Donald Sutherland

After learning of Donald's death, many fans praised Donald for his acting skills and paid tribute to him.

One user said, "No one would’ve portrayed President Snow as elegantly and as majestically as Donald Sutherland did. What an incredible man he was."

Another user commented, "he was such a talented actor and an amazing person. rest in peace Donald."

Another one shared a GIF with a caption saying, "His legacy will live on through the roles he played. We were so lucky and truly honored to have him step into the shoes of President Snow."

One fan shared another GIF paying tribute for a role saying, "Rest in peace Donald Sutherland. Forever our President Snow"

The last shared a clip of Donald smiling with a caption, "My all time favorite actor. Grateful I saw him live onstage once. Wrote him a letter earlier this year. I never heard back, but I hope he read it & knew how much I admired him & was inspired by him. The best. Everything about his Snow was perfect. #RIPDonaldSutherland."

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