Donald Sutherland owes his career to Christopher Plummer
Donald Sutherland owes his decades long career to fellow Canadian actor Christopher Plummer.
At a special screening of the FX mini-series “Trust” in which he plays oil tycoon John Paul Getty, the 82-year-old actor explained that in 1966 he only had a couple of movies under his belt including “The Dirty Dozen.”
After the movie was screened in California, the “M*A*S*H” star received a call that he could have a career in the United States and should get there.”
Sutherland, who was based in London, didn’t have the funds to travel stateside.
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“My then-wife sad, ‘Listen you’ve done two pictures with Chris (Plummer). Why don’t you call him and see if you can borrow the money,’” he recalled.
At first Sutherland blanched at the suggestion, but “my wife was on my case and I finally got up the nerve and called Chris in Stratford.”
After explaining his predicament Plummer asked if he had a pencil.
“Write this down,” he instructed. “And he gave me a name and telephone number. He said, ‘That’s my attorney in London. Call him up in the morning. He’ll have $ 1,500 for you.’”
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Oddly enough both Sutherland and Plummer, 88, portrayed the British-American financier John Paul Getty, with Plummer snagging an Oscar nomination for his turn in “All The Money in the World.”
Interestingly, Sutherland does not see Getty — who infamously dilly-dallied on paying the ransom for his kidnapped grandson Paul Getty, who ended up having an ear severed by his kidnappers — as a villainous person.
“That’s misrepresented,” Sutherland explained.
He added that at first his 16-year-old grandson was involved with the kidnapping and had falsely promised his grandfather that he was not involved with drugs.
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Sutherland noted that when Getty realized the kidnapping was not a hoax he flew to Rome and in Italian negotiated his return.
The “Hunger Games” star has a number of sex scenes in the series as Getty kept a stable of women at his lavish estate.
So does he think it’s a hoot to be shooting sex scenes in his 80s?
Sutherland laughed and added “Sort of!”
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With Nicki Gostin
