Actor Donald Sutherland honored in France

PARIS (AP) -- Actor Donald Sutherland has been awarded the honor Commander of the Arts in France for his contribution to cinema.

Sutherland was decorated on Saturday evening at a ceremony in Paris by former French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, who praised the Canadian star's "extraordinary" career -- with diverse roles in films such as Federico Fellini's "Casanova."

There were chuckles as Mitterrand struggled to tie the medallion around the 76-year-old actor, who sported the long silver hair last seen for his role in blockbuster movie "The Hunger Games."

Sutherland said he loved France, and thanked his French-speaking wife for introducing him to the country's culture through "cinema, but also cheese and baguettes."

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)