Donald Sutherland hated smoking so much that he once wore a gas mask to a party
Keira Knightley has opened up about filming Pride And Prejudice with Donald Sutherland, and revealed one of his biggest pet peeves.
Sutherland, who played Mr. Bennet in the 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, died last week at the age of 88 following a long illness.
Knightley played Elizabeth in the film, one of the five daughters of Sutherland’s character. In a contribution to The Guardian’s tribute to the late veteran actor, Knightley spoke about her first impressions of him, and their experience together on set.
The 39-year-old actor explained how Sutherland was vehemently against smoking, and how he had a “clause in his contract that no one was allowed to smoke anywhere near him.”
“Most of the rest of the cast were in their late teens and early 20s, all chugging away,” she added.
“We used to manically wash our hands and spray ourselves with perfume after, so he wouldn’t know. He’d sniff the air as soon as he came on set and we’d all nervously shuffle about.
“At some point during filming, he came to a party we all had in a gas mask so we could all smoke. I will always remember him standing in the middle of that party in a gas mask,” she shared.
Knightley also spoke about her first impressions of meeting The Hunger Games star: “Donald was a giant. When you meet most actors, they’re surprisingly small. But Donald was huge.”
“I remember feeling unbelievably intimidated by his size and reputation when I first met him,” she added.
She described Sutherland as “terrifying and impish and generous,” and explained how he “gave us all gifts and invitations to visit him on his lake in Canada.”
She seemingly regrets not taking him up on the offer, saying: “I wish I’d gone. He was full of stories and mischief. Strange and wonderful and loved by all of us.”
“He will be greatly missed,” she concluded.
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Alex Berry
NME
