Joe Wright: ‘Working with Donald Sutherland was quite scary’
For an actor whose first film role was credited as ‘Tall man in nightclub’, Donald Sutherland certainly came a long way, eventually becoming one of the industry’s biggest stars. Born in Canada, the actor actually landed most of his early roles in British horror movies like Dr Terror’s House of Horrors and The Shuttered Room before making his way towards Hollywood.
During the late 1960s, Sutherland appeared in various movies, including the Michael Caine film Billion Dollar Brain and the bizarre British gem Joanna, but it was arguably the 1970s’ MASH, directed by Robert Altman, that allowed the actor to take a step closer to success.
In the years that followed, Sutherland appeared in a diverse range of films, playing a tormented, grieving father in Don’t Look Now, a detective in Klute, a hero investigating a terrifying extraterrestrial situation in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and President Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games series.
The actor was truly skilled at his craft, always bringing a deep sense of knowledge to each role, no matter if he was playing a character with humour or fear. As he matured, he proved adaptable, and decades into his career, he found a role that would prove to be one of the greatest of his later years. In 2005, he starred as Mr Bennet, the father of five daughters, in Pride and Prejudice, directed by Joe Wright.
The filmmaker, who made his feature film debut with the movie, was naturally nervous to work with such an acclaimed star, and in an interview with Letterboxd, he admitted that he found directing Sutherland “quite scary”.
Based on the beloved Jane Austen novel published in 1813, the movie was certainly not the first adaptation of the book – the 1995 BBC miniseries had received widespread acclaim a decade prior – but Wright’s version soon commanded praise. While audiences still argue which is the best adaptation of the tale, it seems that modern audiences are much more familiar with this movie version, which saw Sutherland give a fantastic performance as the kind Mr Bennet, who is desperate to marry his daughters off to secure their stability.
The movie is full of great performances from Keira Knightley as Elizabeth and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Darcy, as well as an ensemble of stars who would go on to find greater success, like Rosamund Pike and Carey Mulligan. However, Sutherland’s performance is unforgettable – even if he tried to quit it a few times.
“I kept trying to quit that damn job,” the actor once told Rolling Stone. “Joe wouldn’t let me!”
He also revealed that he would tell the director, “Joe, goddammit, I’m not right for this, why the fuck did you hire me for this?” to which Wright would reply, “You’re fine, you can do it.” He admits that it is now “one of my favourite things out of all the movies I’ve done.”
Thus, with his desire to exit the movie, it’s not surprising that Wright was a little scared when working with Sutherland. He told Letterboxd: “Working with him was quite scary. He was quite a figure. He was concerned that his teeth were too modern, so whenever he laughs in the film, you’ll notice he laughs like a geisha hiding his teeth.”
