"The most significant piece of advice my father gave me early on about acting was, don't get caught acting. Really believe in what you're doing and then commit to it. Even if it feels uncomfortable, even if you feel that you're gonna look like an ass. It's all acting, but find the truth in a moment as opposed to just pretending you have and rather than trying to act your way out of it."
Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland (born December 21, 1966 in Paddington, London) is a Canadian actor. He first achieved fame in The '80s, mostly as scene-stealing villain characters. To this day he's best known for the role of Jack Bauer in the TV series 24, for which he received multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations (and won one of each).
He is the son of actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, as well as the grandson of former Saskatchewan Premier/Canadian New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Tommy Douglas note . His daughter, Sarah Sutherland, played Catherine Meyer on Veep.
Kiefer Sutherland is known for:
- Stand by Me (1986) as Ace Merrill
- The Lost Boys (1987) as David Powers
- Bright Lights, Big City (1988) as Tad Allagash
- Young Guns (1988) as Gordon "Doc" Scurlock
- Young Guns II (1990)
- Flatliners (1990) as Nelson Wright
- Flashback (1990) as Free 'John' Buckner
- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) as FBI Agent Sam Stanley
- A Few Good Men (1992) as Lt. Jonathan Kendrick
- The Vanishing (1993) as Jeff Harriman
- The Three Musketeers (1993) as Athos
- Duke of Groove (1996) as Hugo
- Freeway (1996) as Bob Wolverton
- Eye for an Eye (1996) as Robert Doob
- A Time to Kill (1996) as Freddie Lee Cobb
- Armitage III: Polymatrix (1996) as Ross Sylibus
- Truth or Consequences, N.M. (1997) as Curtis Freley
- Dark City (1998) as Dr. Daniel Schreber
- 24 (2001-2010) as Jack Bauer
- 24: Live Another Day.
- Reprised the role and played characters like him on The Simpsons
- Phone Booth (2002) as The Caller
- The Sentinel (2006) as Secret Service Agent David Breckinridge
- Call of Duty: World at War (2008) as Cpl./Sgt. Roebuck
- Mirrors (2008) as Ben Carson
- Melancholia (2011) as John
- The Confession (2011) as The Confessor
- Touch (2012-2013) as Martin Bohm
- Pompeii (2014) as Senator Quintus Corvus
- Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes/The Phantom Pain (2014) as Snake/Big Boss
- Forsaken (2015)
- Designated Survivor (2016-2019) as Tom Kirkman
- The Fugitive (2020) as Detective Clay Bryce
- Creepshow (2020) as Richard Pine
- The Contractor (2022) as Rusty Jennings
- The First Lady (2022) as Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Rabbit Hole (2023) as John Weir
- They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
- The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial as Captain Queeg
This actor provides examples of:
- The Comically Serious: According to legend, there's a gag take from 24 wherein Sutherland gives an intense, gripping dramatic scene everything he has...with a stuffed bunny perched on his head.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Other than the difference in height (Kiefer is about 5'9 while Donald is 6'4), he looks almost exactly like his father, Donald Sutherland.