82-YEAR-OLD Hollywood legend Donald Sutherland has never won an Oscar, which would come as a surprise to many given the amount of films he’s popped up in down the years.
For such oversights, The Academy reserve the “Honorary Award” to be given out as a lifetime achievement Oscar – so they put on a ceremony for Sutherland over the weekend.
And one of the people on stage to introduce him was Colin Farrell
Before he could lead the tributes, Colin had to find him first:
“Where is Donald Sutherland? If anyone close to him could scream because Donald should have more dignity”
“Hey man. Howaya. It’s good to see you – bestie, obviously, that’s why I’m here.”
He started into a story about the first time they met – Farrell was intimidated and Sutherland said five words to him that he’s never forgotten:
The first time I met Donald was many moons ago. We were shooting a film in Cape Town in South Africa, well were about to start rehearsing. I was in a car park at a makeshift production office and I looked over and I saw the man – and like can happen to us at times when we’re familiar with people’s work through the years – I had a feeling that I knew him but I was intimidated as a result of that feeling.
As warm as Donald can be, he can be intimidating at times. He has that Lion-like visage and he’s got a very elegant but giant stature so I said I’m going to go over and say hello to this man and pay my respects as I knew I was going to be working with him. So I walked over and tapped him on the elbow and he turned around and he said five words to me that I’ve never forgotten to this day – and I’ve carried them with me for whatever it was, 15 years. He looked at me and said:
Put out that fucking cigarette.
Donald, you complete me.
Donald was a bit mortified and the crowd were loving it
Jennifer Lawrence was also there to talk about her time with him on The Hunger Games, as well as all his iconic roles
Then Sutherland got up for an emotional and hilarious speech to end the evening
He’s finally got that Oscar now.
COMMENTS (2)