Donald Sutherland Believed He Was Wrong For ‘Pride & Prejudice’ Role (Exclusive) – ryan

One thing stopped Donald Sutherland from believing he was right for his Pride & Prejudice role: his teeth.

“I remember he used to get hung up on funny little details, and he was very concerned that his teeth were wrong for the role,” the film’s director, Joe Wright, shares exclusively with PEOPLE. “He had modern teeth, too white, he decided, and I shouldn’t have cast him because his teeth were too modern. He kept on telling me this, and that’s why whenever he laughs in the movie, he hides his face. He doesn’t want the audience to see his modern teeth.”

Sutherland played Mr. Bennet, the kind and level-headed patriarch of the family. Teeth concerns aside, the Emmy winner transformed into Mr. Bennet on set, with Wright, 52, sharing that Sutherland “genuinely became a paternal figure towards them all.”

The director admits he was “very sad to see Donald pass,” but “proud to have had the opportunity to work with him.” When reminiscing about working with Sutherland, Wright says the actor took his character very seriously.

“We had three weeks of rehearsals with the family. I remember him the day he met Bingley and Darcy. I thought, ‘What’s wrong with Donald today? He’s kind of odd today.’ Then I figured out that it was actually his problem with Bingley and Darcy and that he was feeling protective and maybe a little jealous in an emotional way,” Wright recalls.

“It became a very joyous family, and Brenda (Blethyn) used to tease him a lot and just laugh at him all the time,” Wright continues.

The 2005 adaptation of Pride & Prejudicedirected by Wright, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Keira Knightley starred as heroine Elizabeth Bennet and received an Oscar nomination for her work, and Succession star Matthew Macfadyen appeared as Mr. Darcy.  The movie will be re-released in US theaters beginning April 20 in celebration of the anniversary.

The cast, which boasted well-known talents like Blethyn and the late Sutherland, also included Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Judi Dench, Carey Mulligan, Talulah Riley, Tom Hollander and Kelly Reilly.

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This is a big year for Pride & Prejudice — 2025 also marks the 30th anniversary of the 1995 BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. The Jane Austen novel inspiring the film adaptation turns 212.

Sutherland died on June 20, 2024, at 88. In a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, Sutherland confirmed he thought he wasn’t right for the role. “I kept trying to quit that d— job,” Sutherland said. “Joe wouldn’t let me! ‘Joe, godd—–, I’m not right for this, why the f— did you hire me for this?’ ‘You’re fine, you can do it.’ ”

“It’s one of my favorite things out of all the movies I’ve done,” Sutherland said.