Donald Sutherland Praised by ‘Backdraft’ Co-Star William Baldwin After Death

The entertainment industry is mourning Donald Sutherland, the Emmy- and honorary Oscar-winning actor who passed away at 88 after a seven-decade career in Hollywood. Among those paying tribute is William Baldwin, who had the privilege of working alongside Sutherland on three projects.

Baldwin, reflecting on his experiences with the late actor, shared his thoughts with Deadline, highlighting their collaborations in Ron Howard’s Backdraft, Universal’s Virus, and the ABC series Dirty, Sexy, Money. The actor’s words vividly depict Sutherland’s unique personality and enduring passion for his craft.

“I have the honor and pleasure of working with Donald Sutherland on three occasions. The first was when he so brilliantly portrayed the deranged, psychopathic arsonist Ronald in Ron Howard’s Backdraft. The second was 20 weeks on the Universal sci-fi thriller Virus with Jamie Lee Curtis. The third, and by far my favorite, was when he played my father and patriarch of the Darling family, Tripp Darling, on the short-lived but wonderful ABC hit Dirty, Sexy, Money.”

Baldwin’s tribute paints Sutherland as a multifaceted individual, describing him as “complex, complicated and quirky” in the most endearing way. He highlighted Sutherland’s gentle, childlike demeanor, which Baldwin found particularly charming.

“Donald was a complex, complicated and quirky man in the most delicious way. He had a gentle, childlike boyish streak in him that I absolutely adored. His persona on screen and his personality in life were as interesting and original as the features on his face … need I say more. He was a true original. A one of a kind. I have never known anyone remotely like him. His many incredible qualities and somehow even his flaws made him more unique, more charming … more lovable.”

He continued, “I remember one day we were coming out of the DSM table reading and Donald had this big smile on his face and bounce in his step and said to me, “Look at this … read this.” He proceeded to hand me his script and I read a scene that had lots of snappy, brilliant Craig Wright/Tripp Darling dialogue in it.

“He said to me… ‘Can you believe that? Can you believe I get to say that … how wonderful.’ It was so sweet and so exhilarating for me to see how excited he still was about the work at 73 years old.”

Baldwin added, “I played his eldest son Patrick on Dirty, Sexy, Money and we had gotten so close during the two seasons we worked together that he once said to me, “I have affection for you as if you were one of my sons.” That meant to the world to me and I will never forget that.

“There will never be another Donald Sutherland … ever. We have lost a true acting master and a quirky, one of a kind, never met anyone like him before original. My condolences to Francine, Rossif, Angus, Roeg, Kiefer and Rachel. He will be dearly missed.”