Donald Sutherland, who died on June 20 aged 88, was few people’s idea of a classically handsome Hollywood actor. When he asked his mother if he was good-looking, she replied: “No, but your face has a lot of character.”
He didn’t let his unconventional looks deter him despite being rejected for a film role with the cutting remark: “This part calls for a guy-next-door type. You don’t look like you’ve lived next door to anyone.”
If anything, Sutherland used his looks to his advantage, bringing his offbeat character to his many onscreen roles that spanned six decades. These roles revealed a wide range, an elasticity that made him somewhat of a chameleon, albeit a sardonic, non-conformist one. He used it to great effect in a series of anti-establishment and countercultural movies that reflected his leftwing politics.
