Donald Sutherland is given a heartwarming tribute from Hunger Games producers who cast him as John Snow... after icon's death at 88

Hours after Kiefer Sutherland broke the news that his father Donald Sutherland had died at age 88, tributes started flowing in for the late, great and beloved actor.

One of those was from the official Hunger Games account. Sutherland played evil president John Snow in the franchise.

'We asked the kindest man in the world to portray the most corrupt, ruthless dictator we've ever seen,' the franchise's official Instagram account posted.

'Such was the power and skill of Donald Sutherland's acting that he created one more indelible character among many others that defined his legendary career,' it continued.

'We are privileged to have known and worked with him, and our thoughts are with his family.'

Hours after Kiefer Sutherland broke the news that his father Donald Sutherland had died at age 88, tributes started flowing in for the late, great and beloved actor

One of those was from the official Hunger Games account. Sutherland played evil president John Snow in the franchise

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REVEALED: Donald Sutherland's powerful letter that convinced The Hunger Games director to cast him

Sutherland played the Machiavellian Coriolanus Snow, who oversaw the violent and devastating fights that give the series its name.

He played the character in Hunger Games (2012); The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013); The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014); and 2015's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.

Donald had a long list of distinguished roles by the time Hunger Games came around but he had his heart set on playing President Snow and pitched himself to the film's director, Gary Ross.

The film franchise, based on Suzanne Collins' bestselling novels, was set in a dystopian future, with North America split into 12 districts, and run by the rich and powerful who live in the Capitol of Panem - ruled by the tyrannical dictator President Snow.

Every year, the Capitol forces each district to select a boy and a girl, called Tributes, to compete in a nationally televised event called the Hunger Games. Donald starred in the film alongside Jennifer Lawrence, who played protagonist Katniss Everdeen.

'Nobody asked me to do it. I wasn't offered it. I like to read scripts, and it captured my passion. I wrote them a letter,' Donald explained to GQ in a 2014 interview.

The letter, sent via email, was featured on the DVD release of The Hunger Games in 2012, in a segment titled Letters from the Rose Garden, where Ross spoke of the collaborative experience between him and Donald.

'That's the relationship you want from an actor and director, where it's a give and take,' Ross explained on the DVD.

He continued: 'It's collaborative. It's one person offering something to the other who then takes it, extrapolates it, runs with it, gives it back to the actor who gives the scene back to me… that's the way filmmaking works best.'

'We asked the kindest man in the world to portray the most corrupt, ruthless dictator we've ever seen,' the franchise's official Instagram account posted; here Donald is seen left with Philip Seymour Hoffman who died in 2014

Sutherland admitted he hadn't initially read the books - in fact he was 'unaware of them' - but felt he could work with Ross to accurately portray President Snow, and give him a new perspective the books didn't offer.

'The role of the president had maybe a line in the script. Maybe two. Didn't make any difference.

'I thought it was an incredibly important film, and I wanted to be a part of it,' he explained.

Donald continued saying he thought he could 'wake up an electorate that had been dormant since the '70s.'

'Such was the power and skill of Donald Sutherland's acting that he created one more indelible character among many others that defined his legendary career,' it continued

'We are privileged to have known and worked with him, and our thoughts are with his family'

Sutherland played the Machiavellian Coriolanus Snow, who oversaw the violent and devastating fights that give the series its name

He played the character in Hunger Games (2012); The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013); The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014); and 2015's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

[video_shortcode_video_html_5 src="https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2015/11/19/2686477717467871652/1024x576_2686477717467871652.mp4" itemprop="image" content="https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2015/11/19/2686477717467871652/1024x576_2686477717467871652.mp4" data-src="https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2015/11/19/2686477717467871652/1024x576_2686477717467871652.mp4"]

'They showed my letter to the director, Gary Ross, and he thought it'd be a good idea if I did it. He wrote those wonderfully poetic scenes in the rose garden, and they formed the mind and wit of Coriolanus Snow,' he said.

The letter, sent via email, was featured on the DVD release of The Hunger Games in 2012, in a segment titled Letters from the Rose Garden, where Ross spoke of the collaborative experience between him and Donald.

'That's the relationship you want from an actor and director, where it's a give and take,' Ross explained on the DVD.

He continued: 'It's collaborative. It's one person offering something to the other who then takes it, extrapolates it, runs with it, gives it back to the actor who gives the scene back to me… that's the way filmmaking works best.