| One of the famous acting brat-pack of the 1980s, Kiefer Sutherland is the star of the TV series 24 as counter-terrorism expert Jack Bauer. The show broke convention by having each hour-long episode represent an hour in Bauer's day. Sutherland's success on television came after a respectable 15 years in the movies: his memorable turn as a bully in Stand By Me (1986) led to a string of successful ensemble movies, including The Lost Boys (1987), Young Guns (1988), and Flatliners (1990). Although he has carried the lead in several movies and played a variety of roles, he has a reputation for playing bad guys, such as in A Few Good Men (1992, with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson), Freeway (1996, opposite Reese Witherspoon), A Time to Kill (1996), Eye For An Eye (1996) and Dark City (1998). He is the son of movie star Donald Sutherland, he learned how to rope and ride in the movies and has competed professionally as a calf roper. Sutherland was nominated for the Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series every year from 2002-2006; he won the award in 2006.
Born: December 21, 1966
Birthplace: London, England
Best known as: Star of the FOX TV series, "24" |
Kiefer started his acting career at the ripe age of 15, but we begin his story a little before that time. The following takes place between December 21, 1966 and the present year, 2008.
Kiefer Sutherland was born Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland and he is the son of Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, both successful actors. He is the grandson of Canadian statesman and inventor of Canadian medicare Tommy Douglas, who was in 2004 voted by CBC viewers as The Greatest Canadian.
Kiefer and his twin sister, Rachel, were born in London, England while his parents were working there. His family then moved to Los Angeles, California shortly afterwards, but his parents eventually divorced in 1970. In 1975, Kiefer moved with his mother and sister to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he attended high school at St. Andrew's College (Aurora, Ontario) and Martingrove Collegiate Institute. As a result, he holds both Canadian and British passports.
Just a year after working on Max Dugan Returns, Sutherland landed his first starring role in the 1930s coming-of-age drama, The Bay Boy. It was a critical success and after Kiefer won a Genie Award in 1984, he decided to move to New York City in the pursuit of launching his acting career. After being featured in TV commercials, he drove all the way back to California to further his pursuits. Kiefer landed a small role in a Steven Spielberg TV series, Amazing Stories, which lead to another role (and the break he was looking for): Ace Merrill in the 1986 film, Stand By Me.
The 1987 vampire thriller, The Lost Boys, was the beginning of Kiefer's gradual ascent in Hollywood and soon enough his face was out there and being recognized by the general public. He appeared to have his father's potential but Kiefer wasn't trying for the next M*A*S*H. He wanted to go his own separate way and he worked just about non-stop, making 5 movies during the year 1990, including Flatliners and the sequel to Young Guns. His next "big" role that shed new light on his acting abailities was a very convincing officer in the 1992 film, A Few Good Men. Kiefer found much satisfaction in these small supporting roles and more ensemble work followed in the form of Article 99 (1992), The Three Musketeers (1993), and A Time to Kill (1996).
According to Kiefer, one of his hardest roles he had played and one that he enjoyed every minute of doing was when he appeared opposite his mother in the Tennessee Williams play, The Glass Menagerie, which was a critical success. Following this, Kiefer turned a different route and tried his hand at directing the movie, Truth or Consequences N.M. He liked it enough to try it again with A Soldier's Sweetheart in 1998 which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews.
What came next for Kiefer turned out to be the best move for his career. But prior to this, he took a two year hiatus from acting and moved to a ranch in Montana where he took on the world of professional bull riding and even participated in a professional bull riding event. After this, he sold his ranch and decided it was time to get back to acting. In 2000, he portrayed the role of a rodeo clown as Hank Braxton in Cowboy Up.
Stephen Hopkins had been hired to direct a pilot for an innovative new television series called 24, a show in which each season takes place over the course of one whole day. Stephen was interested in Kiefer, he wanted to talk to him about 24, and he encouraged Kiefer to consider the lead role ... well, he did accept this role and 2001, an american hero was born. His now trademark portrayal of federal agent Jack Bauer has earned Kiefer recognition as the Best Actor in a TV Drama at the 2001 Golden Globe Awards and the 2003 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor in a Drama. Very few film actors garner success when they transition from the large screen to the small screen, but the series was something special and everything about 24 promised to give viewers something very different. Kiefer has basically taken his role to the next level and breathed life into his character in such a way that keeps viewers on edge and coming back for more. The program received rave reviews from its very first episode and has developed tremendous loyalty from its viewers season after season, and that continues today through its current 6th season.
The show's production schedule runs from July to May and no other television series produces 24 1-hour programs each year (which is equivalent to doing 12 movies). Despite this workload, Sutherland has managed to continue his work on the big screen, mainly it was his voice that was heard more than the actor was seen. He was The Caller in the critically acclaimed film, Phone Booth. Then in March 2004, he made a memorable cameo appearance in the big screen thriller Taking Lives, which starred Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke. During the summer of 2004, Kiefer was in New Zealand filming the epic period drama, River Queen and his voice was heard again in the Disney animated film The Wild, which was released in 2006.
Kiefer also lent his voice and motion design, along with various other cast members from the series, to 24: The Game. The game is based on events that occurred between the second and third seasons of the show and was released in late February 2006. There was also a graphic novel published by IDW that was released in the summer of 2004. The graphic novel is about Kiefer's character Jack Bauer when he first joins CTU; this takes place before the first season occurs.
After the original broadcast of the November 25, 2003 episode of 24, Sutherland broke character to address the issue of gun safety, possibly to limit the liability of Fox Network in case someone attempted to recreate the Russian roulette scenes. Sutherland gave a promotion for an organization called Americans for Gun Safety Foundation. Kiefer broke character again on 24 during the original broadcast of the February 7, 2005 episode for a PSA addressing Arab Americans portrayed on the show. He said that Arab-Americans are united with other Americans in their stand against terrorists. This PSA was in response to a complaint and possible lawsuit by an Arab-American group.
As of 2006, Kiefer Sutherland has been acting for 25 years and he came in at #4 in Entertainment Weekly's list of Top 10 Entertainers of the Year. Earlier in the month, he had been nominated yet again for a Golden Globe for his work in 24. So Congrats to Kiefer and Best wishes for a happy 40th birthday and many, many, more!
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