Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#2106
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Donald Sutherland represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 57 years in, and Donald is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Donald Sutherland appears in 51 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Donald. Pride & Prejudice is the clearest case: a film rated 8.2 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for adventure, family, animation. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Roland Emmerich, John Lee Hancock, Oliver Stone and others, Donald Sutherland helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Pride & Prejudice (2005) as Mr. Bennet · JFK (1991) as X · The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) as President Coriolanus Snow
Career snapshot
Ranked #2106 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
51
1967–2024
Career length
57 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.2
Pride & Prejudice
Average Nutevio score
6.7
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.1
Pride & Prejudice
Most frequent director
Francis Lawrence
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Francis Lawrence
Most common genre
Drama
25 titles
Average runtime
2h 3m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.3
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
7.0
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
1960s
7.4 average MV
The 1960s are where the work and the material meet. The Dirty Dozen — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1960s
7.4
Across 1 catalogue film in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1960s
7.6
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1960s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. The Dirty Dozen.
Most productive era
1990s
11 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | 6.97 films | 6.82 films | 6.87 films | 7.04 films | 6.63 films | 6.62 films |
| Action | 7.41 film | 6.61 film | 6.81 film | 6.15 films | 6.44 films | 6.95 films | 6.31 film |
| Thriller | — | 6.73 films | 6.82 films | 6.78 films | 6.92 films | 6.64 films | 5.71 film |
| Comedy | — | 7.03 films | — | 6.02 films | 5.81 film | 6.61 film | — |
| Crime | — | 6.81 film | 6.81 film | 6.75 films | 7.22 films | 6.53 films | 5.71 film |
| Romance | — | — | — | — | 6.64 films | 7.11 film | — |
| Horror | — | 6.92 films | — | 5.63 films | — | — | 6.41 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1967The Dirty Dozen
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Vernon Pinkley.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
8.2 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
The current state of the argument, as Mr. Smiley.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
51 of 51 films
as Matthew Bennell
Directed by Philip Kaufman
as John Spencer
Directed by Unknown
as President Coriolanus Snow
Directed by Francis Lawrence
as Lucien Wilbanks
Directed by Joel Schumacher
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Mr. Bennet
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Performance score7.9
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Mr. Bennet gives Donald Sutherland a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Matthew Bennell
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Performance score7.7
Invasion of the Body Snatchers asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Matthew Bennell is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
John Spencer
The Leisure Seeker (2018)
Performance score7.5
The Leisure Seeker asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. John Spencer is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
President Coriolanus Snow
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
Performance score7.5
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. President Coriolanus Snow is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Mr. Bennet
Start here. Pride & Prejudice is the clearest statement of what Donald Sutherland does — accessible, 128 minutes, and rated 8.2 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Donald at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
A deliberate change of key after Pride & Prejudice — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
A Time to Kill (1996)
A deliberate change of key after Invasion of the Body Snatchers — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
A deliberate change of key after A Time to Kill — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
The Leisure Seeker (2018)
Keeps the adventure register of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Francis Lawrence
Director
3 films together
Notably The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Oliver Stone
Director
2 films together
Notably JFK
Robert Aldrich
Director
1 film together
Notably The Dirty Dozen
Brian G. Hutton
Director
1 film together
Notably Kelly's Heroes
Robert Altman
Director
1 film together
Notably M*A*S*H
Alan J. Pakula
Director
1 film together
Notably Klute
Dalton Trumbo
Director
1 film together
Notably Johnny Got His Gun
Nicolas Roeg
Director
1 film together
Notably Don't Look Now
Bernardo Bertolucci
Director
1 film together
Notably 1900
Federico Fellini
Director
1 film together
Notably Fellini's Casanova
John Sturges
Director
1 film together
Notably The Eagle Has Landed
Philip Kaufman
Director
1 film together
Notably Invasion of the Body Snatchers
John Landis
Director
1 film together
Notably Animal House
Richard Marquand
Director
1 film together
Notably Eye of the Needle
John Flynn
Director
1 film together
Notably Lock Up
Ron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably Backdraft
Fran Rubel Kuzui
Director
1 film together
Notably Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Barry Levinson
Director
1 film together
Notably Disclosure
Stuart Orme
Director
1 film together
Notably The Puppet Masters
Wolfgang Petersen
Director
1 film together
Notably Outbreak
Joel Schumacher
Director
1 film together
Notably A Time to Kill
Christian Duguay
Director
1 film together
Notably The Assignment
Gregory Hoblit
Director
1 film together
Notably Fallen
John Bruno
Director
1 film together
Notably Virus
Clint Eastwood
Director
1 film together
Notably Space Cowboys
Anthony Minghella
Director
1 film together
Notably Cold Mountain
F. Gary Gray
Director
1 film together
Notably The Italian Job
Joe Wright
Director
1 film together
Notably Pride & Prejudice
Andrew Niccol
Director
1 film together
Notably Lord of War
Robert Towne
Director
1 film together
Notably Ask the Dust
Mike Binder
Director
1 film together
Notably Reign Over Me
Andy Tennant
Director
1 film together
Notably Fool's Gold
Seth Gordon
Director
1 film together
Notably Horrible Bosses
Kevin Macdonald
Director
1 film together
Notably The Eagle
Simon West
Director
1 film together
Notably The Mechanic
Gary Ross
Director
1 film together
Notably The Hunger Games
Jon Cassar
Director
1 film together
Notably Forsaken
Giuseppe Capotondi
Director
1 film together
Notably The Burnt Orange Heresy
John Lee Hancock
Director
1 film together
Notably Mr. Harrigan's Phone
Roland Emmerich
Director
1 film together
Notably Moonfall
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Francis Lawrence
Director
3 films together · 7.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Hunger Games: Catching FireOliver Stone
Director
2 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
JFKJoe Wright
Director
1 film together · 8.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Pride & PrejudiceAndrew Niccol
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Lord of WarJoel Schumacher
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Time to KillBernardo Bertolucci
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
1900Robert Aldrich
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Dirty DozenGary Ross
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Hunger GamesMike Binder
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Reign Over MePhilip Kaufman
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Invasion of the Body SnatchersDalton Trumbo
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Johnny Got His GunBrian G. Hutton
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Kelly's HeroesF. Gary Gray
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Italian JobAnthony Minghella
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cold MountainJohn Landis
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Animal HouseRobert Altman
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
M*A*S*HGregory Hoblit
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FallenJohn Flynn
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Lock UpNicolas Roeg
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Don't Look NowAlan J. Pakula
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
KluteRon Howard
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BackdraftRichard Marquand
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Eye of the NeedleFederico Fellini
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Fellini's CasanovaSeth Gordon
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Horrible BossesWolfgang Petersen
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
OutbreakJohn Sturges
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Eagle Has LandedSimon West
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The MechanicJohn Lee Hancock
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mr. Harrigan's PhoneClint Eastwood
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Space CowboysChristian Duguay
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The AssignmentRoland Emmerich
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MoonfallBarry Levinson
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
DisclosureJon Cassar
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ForsakenKevin Macdonald
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The EagleAndy Tennant
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Fool's GoldStuart Orme
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Puppet MastersGiuseppe Capotondi
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Burnt Orange HeresyFran Rubel Kuzui
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Buffy the Vampire SlayerRobert Towne
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ask the DustJohn Bruno
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
VirusSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Pride & Prejudice
as Mr. Bennet
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Pride & Prejudice
as Mr. Bennet
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Pride & Prejudice
as Mr. Bennet
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Lord of War
as Colonel Oliver Southern (voice)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Pride & Prejudice
as Mr. Bennet
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Donald Sutherland has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
57 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Drama Legend
Awarded
25 catalogue titles in drama, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Pride & Prejudice
as Mr. Bennet
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Lord of War
as Colonel Oliver Southern (voice)
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Miranda's Victim
as Judge Wren
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Burnt Orange Heresy
as Jerome Debney
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
as President Coriolanus Snow
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
as President Coriolanus Snow
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
M*A*S*H
as Hawkeye Pierce
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Pride & Prejudice
as Mr. Bennet
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
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Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Cillian Murphy
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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