‘Comeback’ doesn’t adequately describe stone-faced actor Kiefer Sutherland’s recent fortunes. Once a fledging former star and 80s ‘Brat Pack’ cohort, Sutherland is now the highest-paid dramatic actor on television due to the success of Fox’s taut action series “24”, for which the actor has received a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and four Emmy nominations.
Kiefer is the son of famed actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, and was born on December 21, 1966 in London while his parents were working there. The family moved back to L.A., but in 1970 his parents divorced, and Kiefer moved to Toronto with his mother where he lived until moving to New York City in 1983 to pursue an acting career. Sutherland appeared in several television commercials, and landed a small role in the film “Max Dugan Returns”. An early success for the actor was the 1984 Canadian drama “The Bay Boy”, which earned him a Genie Award nomination for Best Actor. Kiefer then moved to L.A., where he appeared in a few television films until receiving major attention for his role as a high school bully in 1986’s popular “Stand By Me”. He fell in with the famed 80s ‘Brat Pack’ around this time, becoming notorious for lighting up the Hollywood social scene with fellow young actors Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Jason Patric, and Molly Ringwald, among others. Known for his intense screen presence, Sutherland found success playing antihero characters in “The Lost Boys” and “Young Guns”. The latter film spawned a sequel in 1990, and that same year he co-starred with rising actress Julia Roberts in the chilling drama “Flatliners”.
Sutherland and Roberts began a well-publicized affair, and Roberts famously left him shortly before their wedding and ran off to Europe with friend Jason Patric. The actor went on to play several impressive roles in the 90s, though like most of the ‘Brat Pack’ stars he didn’t become a major leading man. Sutherland has frequently portrayed villainous characters in films like “A Time to Kill”, “A Few Good Men”, “Eye for an Eye”, and as a pedophile/serial killer in “Freeway”, which starred a young Reese Witherspoon. Sutherland also played a memorable villain in Alex Proyas’ inventive sci-fi/noir “Dark City” in 1998.
The series “24”, which began airing in late 2001 after being delayed due to 9/11, became a huge hit for Fox, and made Sutherland’s Jack Bauer the most popular character on television. The sharply plotted and suspenseful series is going strong in its fifth season, and Sutherland recently signed a 40 million dollar contract for three more seasons of the hit show, which has also seen enormous DVD sales. The show has proved to be a huge comeback for the actor, who can currently be seen in the political assassination thriller “The Sentinel” with Michael Douglas and Eva Longoria. Though his character in the film is curiously similar to his “24” alter ego, America can’t seem to get enough of a good thing, as the film is proving to be a modest hit at the box office.