Do Look Now

In a varied and interesting life during which he found time to not only father Kiefer but also Kate Bush as well, it is a challenge to historians to work out exactly what Mr Sutherland was up to in WW2.

As a vital cog in the well-oiled Nazi plan to assassinate Churchill, he thrilled his Irish compatriots with his eerie ability to control dogs and amuse grave-diggers. Yet our hero also found time to impersonate high-ranking officers as a vital member of the Dirty Dozen. And then serve in Korea.

Some clue as to what drives such a man might be found in the mob riots that Mr Sutherland was caught up in during the Great Depression. His part in the horrible murder of a hugely annoying child and subsequent brush with the law may well have led to a strong desire to stare down danger in the European Theatre. We might also see the heavy cloak of guilt in consequent experiments with orgone and the presentation to Albert Einstein of a Sex-box of his own invention.

In middle-age, Donald Sutherland would taste the fruits of all his deals with the Devil, as family tragedy resulted in a series of supernatural horrors leading to his own demise at the hands of a dwarf.

The fact that he continued in movies after this is surely a testament to his professionalism.