Renowned U.S./Canadian actor Donald Sutherland dies at 88

The renowned Canadian-born actor Donald Sutherland died today at the age of 88, victim of a long illness, according to his agent Missy Davy.

Sutherland played dissimilar roles in the cinema, including "JFK: Cold Case" (1992) or "The Hunger Games" (2013), in which, with style and personality, he always fell in love with the public, noted CNN in Spanish.

With great sadness, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away, Kiefer Sutherland, the son, also a prominent actor, wrote in a post on Instagram.

He personally seems to me to be one of the most important actors in the history of cinema.  He never flinched from a role, good, bad or ugly, Kiefer said, adding that his father loved his work.  "You can't ask for more than that.  A life well lived," he added.

Known for his on-screen intensity, Sutherland won an Emmy for his role as a Soviet official in the true-life HBO film "Citizen X" and a pair of Golden Globes.

His career spanned more than 50 years and 140 film credits, including recent roles as oil tycoon J. Paul Getty on "Trust" and HBO's "The Undoing." Sutherland's big break came when he was cast as one of the members of "The Dirty Dozen" in the star-studded 1967 film that became a huge hit.

He followed with another war film, "Kelly's Heroes," before playing the wisecracking Dr. Hawkeye Pierce in the film version of "M*A*S*H" (1970) and opposite Jane Fonda in her Oscar-winning portrayal of a high-class prostitute for the crime-mystery film "Klute" (1971).

His ability to play all types of roles led Sutherland to acquire a star resume in the 1970s, which included a remake of the horror film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and a memorable role as a pot-smoking professor in the National Lampoon comedy "Animal House."

A steady stream of roles in a wide variety of genres followed, including supporting work in the case of "Ordinary People" (winner of the Oscar for Best Picture).

Sutherland also played director Federico Fellini's legendary lover in "Fellini's Casanova," but younger moviegoers will probably remember him as the evil president of the aforementioned "Hunger Games" films.

From a very young age, Sutherland had several health problems, including polio. He attended the University of Toronto, where he studied engineering before achieving stardom in theater and appearing on stage, graduating with both degrees.

The actor - 1.95 meters tall - was married three times, one of those with actress Shirley Douglas with whom he had two children, Kiefer and Rachel, who also works in film as a post-production supervisor.

With his son Kiefer appeared in films such as the comedy-drama "Max Dugan Returns" or "A Time to Kill."

“It was a memory and experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life,” Kiefer Sutherland revealed at the time.

When talking about what advice he would give to young people in film, Sutherland commented: "Try to be as sincere as possible, read, read a lot, learn, memorize things, enjoy your art, study dance, be a circus artist, learn how to juggle, so many things, but above all you have to observe."

Sutherland received an honorary board award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2017 and was honored with the Order of Canada.