Pride and Prejudice – Donald Sutherland: “It's one of my favorite things to do in my career”

In this adaptation by Joe Wright, the actor plays the father of the family and delivers a moving performance opposite Keira Knightley.

A Hollywood star has passed away. Donald Sutherland died Thursday at the age of 88 following an illness. A versatile actor, he was known for having played in The Bastard Twelve, The invasion of the desecrators and the saga Hunger Games where he portrayed the cruel dictator President Snow. The world of cinema continues to pay tribute to him, and on the networks, actors, directors and fans share their sadness by saluting the Canadian's best roles. For some, it is also by playing Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice that the actor delivered an extraordinary performance.

The great Donald Sutherland is dead

In 2005, Joe Wright directed one of the most popular adaptations of Jane Austen's novels to date. In pre-Victorian England, parents despair of seeing their five daughters marry rich parties. One of them, Elizabeth, meets Mr. Darcy and although they are very different from each other, putting aside their pride and prejudices, a love blossoms. Here, Keira Kngithley, Matthew Macfadyen, Rosamund Pike and Carey Mulligan rub shoulders. But not only ! Because it is Donald Sutherland who we find in the role of the father, sarcastic, light, gentle and loving with his daughters.

He embraces the full complexity of the character and offers viewers one of the most moving scenes, closing the film with teary eyes. As Elizabeth confesses her love for Mr. Darcy to her father, the latter, moved, cannot contain his combined sorrow and happiness. He gives him his consent:

“I cannot believe that any man deserves you. But it seems that my opinion does not count. I give you my most sincere consent. I could not have given you, my Lizzie, to any man less worthy than you. “

It's between laughter and tears that ends Pride and Prejudice. Looking back, Donald Sutherland admitted that it was one of the things he loved doing in his entire filmography. In an interview given to Rolling Stone in 2018 on the occasion of the broadcast of Trust, the actor returned to this key scene in his career. His reaction is astonishing:

“I kept trying to quit that job. Joe (editor’s note: the director) refused to let me leave. I told him 'Joe, damn it, I'm not good enough to do this, why the fuck did you hire me?' He answered me : 'You're very good, you can do it.' In the end, it's one of my favorite things to do out of all the films in my career.”

Time has taken its toll on this passage. Well surrounded, the actor complimented each actress on their talent behind the scenes, shared on social networks following his death.

Why Donald Sutherland absolutely wanted to play President Snow in The Hunger Games

Among her small tribe, the youngest played by Jena Malone, will meet Donald Sutherland ten years later in the arena of Hunger Games. Recently, the actress shared on Instagram, a photo taken on the set of Pride and Prejudice.

The film is available on Netflix, as is Mr. Harrigan's Phoneone of his very last films.

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