He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that... a life well lived

Those drooping blue eyes, the grin that could go from playful to menacing in a flicker, and that silky baritone voice made him a Hollywood great.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

Donald Sutherland, one of the most loved and respected actors, leaves behind a legacy of nearly 200 films and TV shows following his death yesterday aged 88.

He passed away in Miami, Florida, after a short illness.

Long considered among the best actors never to have been nominated for an Academy Award, Sutherland loved to work and enjoyed a career that spanned six decades.

Son Kiefer Sutherland broke the news in an online post.

The 24 star said: "With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father has passed away.

"I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film.

"Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly.

"He loved what he did and did what he loved, one can never ask for more than that.

A life well lived." Sutherland worked regularly up until his death. "I love to work. I passionately love to work," he declared in 1998.

"I love to feel my hand fit into the glove of some other character. I feel a huge freedom - time stops for me."

His range was as tall as his 6ft 4in frame, equally comfortable playing a zany oddball, an icy tyrant or a bereaved father.

"I'm not as crazy as I used to be, but I'm still a little crazy," he said.

Sutherland recalled that while growing up in eastern Canada, he once asked his mother if he was good-looking, only to be told: "No, but your face has a lot of character."

He recounted how he was rejected for a role by a producer saying: "This part calls for a guy next-door type. You don't look like you've lived next door to anyone."

Born in Saint John, a fishing village in New Brunswick, he was one of four children to his mathematician mother Dorothy and his salesman father Frederick.

He survived a series of childhood diseases, including infantile paralysis, rheumatoid fever and spinal meningitis before attending