Donald Sutherland was one of the greatest actors of the 1970s — no small compliment considering this is when Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, and plenty of other Hollywood legends came to prominence. Like his contemporaries, Sutherland wasn’t defined by a particular role or archetype, enabling him to show up in many films destined to be classics. He had distinguishing features — a mustache, curly hair, and a baritone voice both commanding and soothing — but none so much that typecasting subsumed him.
His first starring part was in Robert Altman’s 1970 “M*A*S*H” as the original Hawkeye Pierce — Alan Alda would take over for the TV remake and define the character more than Sutherland. Not to worry, since Sutherland still had plenty of roles coming his way. He appeared in “Klute” the next year. Though his role was the titular detective, he was ultimately a supporting part next to Jane Fonda’s Oscar-winning turn.
In 1973, Sutherland turned to horror with “Don’t Look Now,” directed by Nicolas Roeg (the inspiration for his son’s name). As one half of a couple grieving their lost daughter, this was Sutherland’s most emotionally taxing role— the film’s opening saw him discover his drowned daughter, dive into and then emerge from the pond in tears — and he delivered on the requisite physical display of grief.
A remake of a ’50s B-movie may have seemed like an odd choice for Sutherland, but Philip Kaufman’s “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” in 1978 was no bargain-bin remake. Sutherland led an ensemble of great characters as Matthew Bennell, a health inspector who discovers something much darker is afoot in San Francisco than health code violations.
