Canadian-American actor onscreen from 1963 in a variety of character and lead roles ranging from the stage to TV series.
One of four kids of a math-teacher mom and a salesman dad, he moved to Nova Scotia at 14 where he became the youngest disc jockey in Canada. He began acting with local groups and went to England in 1956 to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His quality of work in many minor roles was markedly different in each portrayal, however he did not receive great notice until he played Hawkeye Pierce in “M.A.S.H.” He appeared in over 84 films including “The “M*A*S*H,” 1970, “Klute,” 1971, “JFK,” 1991, “Six Degrees of Separation,” 1993, and “Instinct,” 1999. He was the winner of an Emmy Award for “Citizen X,” 1995.
Sutherland grew up in the Canadian Maritimes, the son of a gifted salesman and a mathematician mom. One of five kids, he worked as a deejay in Nova Scotia at age 14 and after graduating from high school, attended The University of Toronto to study engineering, supporting himself by odd jobs and performing with local theater companies. Informing his father that he wanted to be an actor, (Dad did not discourage him), Sutherland was accepted to The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London in 1950. Following lengthy tours of the provinces, he moved back to London to TV work and then straight into his first film, “The Castle of the Living Dead,” in 1965. After B movies in the late ’60s such as “Die! Die! My Darling,” it was his performance of Hawkeye Pierce in the classic “M*A*S*H” in 1970 that served as the final launching pad for his career. Since then the 6’4″, 200 lb. actor has worked steadily. An anti-Vietnam War activist, he formed “Free Theatre Associates” with Jane Fonda as an alternative to Bob Hope’s USO tours. He and Fonda had become friends when they co-starred in the award-winning film, “Klute.”
Sutherland has suffered from ill health, as he has combated pneumatic fever, polio, hepatitis, an appendectomy, scarlet fever and pneumonia. He had a near-death experience when he had spinal meningitis. His son with Shirley Douglas, Kiefer, has followed in his footsteps to become a noted actor.
Sutherland is best known for his enormous versatility and wide range of characterizations. “It is characters who make pictures. Essentially, my job is to provide information about them. My first concern is that I’ve been correctly cast. After that, it’s my job to express the director’s image and make sure our channels of communication are open. Your best work comes in relation with other actors, but the director is the key to it all. I’ve often described that relationship as sexual. I’m his concubine. Once the movie is over…the relationship is over. I can’t go back to it.”
Sutherland’s two marriages, to Lois Mary Hardwicke and Shirley Jean Douglas, (daughter of former Saskatchewan premier Thomas C. Douglas) both ended in divorce. He has five children, all named after directors, Kiefer, twins Rachel and Douglas, Roeg, Rassif and Angus Redford. His companion since 1974 has been French Canadian Actress Francine Racette and the couple maintain three homes, in Montreal, Vermont and Paris.
Link to Wikipedia biography