Sutherland was born on 21 December 1966 atSt Mary's Hospital in thePaddington district of London, toDonald Sutherland andShirley Douglas, both successful Canadian actors who had been living and working in England.[6] His parents divorced when he was three.[7] He has a twin sister, Rachel Sutherland, who works as a post-production film supervisor.[8] His maternal grandfather was Scottish-born Canadian politician and formerPremier of SaskatchewanTommy Douglas, who is widely credited for bringinguniversal health care to Canada.
Sutherland toldThe Sunday Times that he rarely saw his father, outside of holidays and summer vacations, until he moved out at age 15.[7] He toldJimmy Kimmel Live! (2009) that he andRobert Downey Jr. were roommates for three years when he first moved to Hollywood to pursue his career in acting.[14] He and Downey also starred together in the film1969 (1988).
After receiving critical acclaim for his role as Donald Campbell inThe Bay Boy (1985), Sutherland moved to Hollywood.Stand by Me (1986) was the first film Sutherland made in the United States.[16] In the film, directed byRob Reiner, he played a neighbourhood bully in acoming-of-age story about a search for a dead body. Before that, he played a silent, supporting character, as one ofSean Penn's friends who goes up againstChristopher Walken inJames Foley's crime-thrillerAt Close Range (1986).
In the sequelYoung Guns II (1990), Sutherland continued to play 'Doc' alongside some of the original cast and with newcomerChristian Slater. As of 2017[update], it is the only sequel to a feature film he has starred in. Sutherland starred as the lead inFlatliners (1990), with an ensemble cast featuringJulia Roberts andKevin Bacon, a film about a student who wants to "experience" death's afterlife and record what happens during it, with the help of a group of young students who are "a little" crazy like him; the film received positive reviews from critics. He plays a young FBI agent coming to terms with his life in a commune inFlashback (1990) alongsideDennis Hopper. Sutherland had also starred inThe Nutcracker Prince as Hans/The Nutcracker.
Sutherland did not make a film in 1991. During an interview in March 2012, he said he had declined directorGus Van Sant's offer to star in the lead role in the movieMy Own Private Idaho, a decision that he regretted. He was quoted as saying "I passed onMy Private Idaho because I wanted to go skiing and didn't even look at it. I told myself that I needed to stick to my plan ... and it was a really dumb plan."[18]
InThe Vanishing (1993), he starred alongsideJeff Bridges as a desperate man seeking the whereabouts of his girlfriend, three years after she mysteriously vanished. InThe Three Musketeers (1993), Sutherland played the central character ofAthos.
In 1998, he starred inDark City, the science fiction film directed byAlex Proyas in which he portrayed the historical characterDaniel P. Schreber. Sutherland also starred in the filmGround Control where he played Jack Harries, an air traffic controller who had a perfect record until one air crash haunts him to leave the business. Years later, he is hurtled back into the world he thought he left behind.
Since 2001, Sutherland has been associated most widely with the role ofJack Bauer on the critically acclaimed television series24.[6] After being nominated four times for the "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series"Primetime Emmy Award, Sutherland won the award in 2006 for his role in24's fifth season. In the opening skit of the2006 Primetime Emmy Awards, Sutherland made an appearance as his24 character, Jack Bauer. He was also nominated for Best actor in a Drama Television Series at the2007 Golden Globe Awards for24. According to his 2006 contract, his salary of $40 million for three seasons of the show made him the highest-earning actor on television.[20]
Sutherland constantly emphasizes that the show is merely "entertainment".[21] The dean of theUnited States Military Academy,Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, visited the set of24 in February 2007 to urge the show's makers to reduce the number of torture scenes[22] and Sutherland accepted an invitation from the U.S. military to tell West Point cadets that it is wrong to torture prisoners.[23] In an interview withOK! magazine,Howard Gordon said it would be an "unbearable loss" if they killed off Sutherland's character.[24]
Due to his extensive schedule with24, he spent less time in film. In 2004, he starred inTaking Lives, alongsideAngelina Jolie andEthan Hawke, in which he had a "flashy cameo". InThe Sentinel (2006), he starred alongsideMichael Douglas, as his protégé and he also starred in Disney'sThe Wild where he voiced the character Samson. He played the lead roles inAlexandre Aja's supernatural horror,Mirrors (2008).[25] In 2009, he joined theDreamWorks animated filmMonsters vs. Aliens, reuniting him with actressReese Witherspoon with whom he starred inFreeway.Monsters vs. Aliens is Sutherland's highest-grossing film to date.
The actor is also a frequent collaborator with directorJoel Schumacher, and has appeared inThe Lost Boys (1987),Flatliners (1990),Phone Booth (2002),[26] the big screen adaptation ofA Time to Kill (1996, the film also starred his father Donald, although their characters did not interact), andTwelve (2010) as the narrator.
In 2005, Sutherland was inducted intoCanada's Walk of Fame in Toronto,[27] where both of his parents have also been inducted. He ranked No. 68 on the 2006 Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities, his earnings were a reported $23 million.[28] In 2008, he was awarded a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[29] Sutherland was the firstInside the Actors Studio guest to be the child of a former guest; his father, Donald, appeared on the show in 1998.[6] Sutherland was featured on the cover of the April 2006 edition ofRolling Stone, in an article entitled "Alone in the Dark with Kiefer Sutherland". The article began with Sutherland revealing his interest to be killed off in24. However, he stated, "Don't get me wrong. I love what I do." It also revealed that he devoted 10 months a year working on24.[30] He has starred in Japanese commercials forCalorieMate, performing a parody of his Jack Bauer character.[31] Sutherland also provides voice-overs for the current ad campaign for theFord Motor Company of Canada.[32] In mid-2006, he voiced theApple, Inc. advertisement announcing the inclusion ofIntel chips in theirMacintosh computer line.[33] He also voices the introduction toNHL games on theVersus network in the US.[34]
2010s and 2020s: Post-24 film, television, and music projects
On 14 February 2010, Fox TV announced they were temporarily suspending production of Season 8 of24 due to a ruptured cyst near one of Sutherland's kidneys. According to the report, he waited a few days before going in to have "elective surgery" performed.[35] It was anticipated that he would return after a week, but a few days further were needed and Fox reported that his return to set would be 1 March.[36]
In 2012, Sutherland starred in theFox television seriesTouch. He played the father of an autistic boy who does not like to be touched, while the son also communicates future humanity interrelated events to his father through numbers and mathematics.[37]
InThe Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013), the best-selling novel adaptation directed byMira Nair, he played a supporting character for newcomerRiz Ahmed, as a boss named Jim Cross. On 14 May 2013, it was confirmed that the show24 would return for a limited series.[39] Before that, he was also offered the lead role in the NBC dramaThe Blacklist. In May and July 2014, Fox aired the twelve-episode24: Live Another Day, which received acclaimed reviews from critics. Although he did not appear in 2017's24: Legacy, he was the show's executive producer.
Sutherland was cast in the 2014 epic romantic historical disaster movie,Pompeii, directed byPaul W. S. Anderson; though the film received generally mixed to negative reviews, and Sutherland's Roman accent and antagonistic performance as Senator Quintus Attius Corvus received polarizing responses from critics, he regarded the film as "much more fun" than many of his other roles, and considered production of the film to be "one of the most comfortable environments I've ever been in".[40][41]
After working in the movie industry for more than 30 years, he had the chance to star with his father, Donald Sutherland, in the 2015 western-drama filmForsaken, which also starsDemi Moore andBrian Cox. The film screened at theToronto International Film Festival and received mixed reviews from critics.[46][47]
In 2016, Sutherland was cast in the lead role of the formerABC political drama seriesDesignated Survivor as Tom Kirkman, the President of the United States.[48] The show was renewed byNetflix for a third season which was released on 7 June 2019.[49]
In 2016, Sutherland released his first album,Down in a Hole, and a music video for "Not Enough Whiskey" from the album. Thecountry music songs were written by Sutherland and Jude Cole. The Kiefer Sutherland Band toured in April and May of that year,[50] and debuted at theGrand Ole Opry on June 6, 2016.[51] A 2017 review inThe Guardian said, "you have the first Hollywood hobby act unshackled by convention and with a real shot at greatness."[52] The band performed in Scotland[53] and in Las Vegas in 2019.[54] The band's second album,Reckless and Me, was released in April 2019.[55]
Sutherland played Det. Clay Bryce in the American action thriller television seriesThe Fugitive, which premiered on August 3, 2020.[56] He also starred as lead role John Weir in the 2023Paramount+ thriller showRabbit Hole.[57] In the 2023 filmThe Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, based on the two-act playof the same name, Sutherland played the role of Lieutenant Commander Phillip Queeg, the part portrayed byHumphrey Bogart in the1954 film adaptation.The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, directed byWilliam Friedkin, premiered in September 2023 at the80th Venice International Film Festival where it screened out of competition.[58] The film is Friedkin's sole posthumous work, the director having died on August 7 of the same year.[59] Brian Tallerico ofRogerEbert.com praised Sutherland for bringing "unique energy" to the role, describing his performance as "one of the best acting turns of his career."[60]Total Film have also praised his performance, writing Sutherland delivers "some of the best work of his career here. He's only briefly in the film, and yet he makes every second count, fidgeting with his hands and spitting his lines as if certain words pain him. He makes Queeg a complex, complicated man, not just a stock villain."[61]
Sutherland narrated theApple TV+ docuseriesJohn Lennon: Murder Without a Trial. It was released on Apple's streaming platform on December 6, 2023.[62] In 2024, he starred inClint Eastwood's courtroom dramaJuror No. 2.[63]
Personal life
Sutherland in 2008
Marriages and relationships
On 12 September 1987, Sutherland married Puerto Rican-born Camelia Kath, the widow of Chicago guitarist/singerTerry Kath; she was 34 and he was 20.[64] They had one daughter,Sarah, born on February 18, 1988. Through their marriage, he became stepfather to Camelia's daughter Michelle Kath (b. 1976), who has two sons with actorAdam Sinclair.[65] Sutherland and Kath divorced in 1990.[66]
Sutherland was engaged toJulia Roberts, his co-star inFlatliners (1990).[67] The pair planned to marry on 14 June 1991, but called off the engagement four days before.[66]
On 29 June 1996, Sutherland married Kelly Winn. The coupleseparated in 1999, and he filed for divorce in 2004. The divorce was finalized on 16 May 2008.[68]
In the late 1990s, Sutherland purchased a 900-acre (360 ha) ranch in Montana and toured on the rodeo circuit.[69] He datedBo Derek in 2000.[70]
Sutherland was charged in Los Angeles on 25 September 2007, on drunk driving charges, after failing afield sobriety test. His test exceeded the state's legalblood alcohol limit, and he was later released on a $25,000 bail. It was Sutherland's fourth DUI charge since 1989.[75] Sutherland pleadedno contest to theDUI charge and was sentenced to 48 days in jail.[76]
Sutherland surrendered to theNYPD on 6 May 2009 forhead-butting fashion designer Jack McCollough, founder and co-designer ofProenza Schouler, atThe Mercer Hotel inSoHo following a fundraiser for theMetropolitan Museum of Art.[77][78] Several weeks later, Sutherland and McCollough issued a joint statement in which Sutherland apologized; police later dropped the charges.[79]
Business ventures
Sutherland is the co-owner (along withJude Cole) of the independent record labelIronworks.
Sutherland reportedly fell victim to a financial scam involving cattle in 2010.[80] According to theAssociated Press, the perpetrator, Michael Wayne Carr, took US$869,000 from Sutherland, ostensibly in order to buysteers which were never purchased. Carr pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay US$956,000 in restitution to Sutherland and his investment partner.[81]
In his January 2007 interview withCharlie Rose, Sutherland said of his political views:
I believe inherently that we have a responsibility to take care of each other, so when you talk aboutsocialized health care: absolutely, that's a no-brainer.Free universities: absolutely, that's a no-brainer. So, in the definition, I guess those are leaning towardsocialist politics. To me, it's common sense.[82]
As a Canadian citizen residing in the United States for work, Sutherland said he is unable to vote in either country. However, he has stated in a 2016 interview that he would have aligned with theNew Democratic Party due to his family's history and support for the NDP. Sutherland also supports theLiberal Party's efforts to protect universal health care and criticized theConservative Party's "undervaluing" of the Canadian public health care system.[83]
In 2019, Sutherland called outOntario premierDoug Ford and OttawaMPPLisa MacLeod for using his late grandfather's name to "push their agendas". He also criticized Ford for claiming that the late Douglas would have approved of theProgressive Conservatives' push for fiscal discipline as he argued that his grandfather's achievements were "never at the expense of social and human services to those in need". MacLeod responded by criticizing an "expensive" bus shelter ad forDesignated Survivor outside ofQueen's Park while suggesting that Sutherland does not understand the challenges of being a politician compared to "pretending to be one on TV".[84]
Charity work
Sutherland is a member of a Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.[85]
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