Kiefer Sutherland Biography:

In a career that spans 20 years, Kiefer Sutherland has covered lots of ground, he has established his skills as an actor, bringing to the screen a personal presence. He's one of those actors audiences feel close to, and good about, because we have watched him grow up in front of our eyes. We've been with him through his early success in films like The "Lost Boys" and "Stand By Me", and through his loves, heartbreaks, hardships and all the rest.

On December 21, 1966, Kiefer Sutherland and his sister, Rachel, were born in the UK to Canadian acting parents, screen legend Donald Sutherland and the stage actress, Shirley Douglas. Kiefer is also the grandson of one of Canada's most well-known and high-ranking politicians, Tommy Douglas - the past Premier of Saskatchewan and the founder of the Canadian system of socialized medicine.

At age five, his parents divorced and Sutherland relocated from their home in Los Angeles to Toronto with his mother. Kiefer spent a lot of time in the theater with his mother and visited the movie sets where his father was working and filming. At age fifteen, Sutherland caught the Hollywood fever and began acting in a range of youth theaters in Canada. In 1984, Kiefer landed his first starring role in the 1930s drama, "The Bay Boy" - for which he won a Genie Award in 1984 (Canada's Academy Award).

After moving back to LA, Kiefer appeared in a succession of hits in the late ’80s. With his bad boy smile and draw, he was a great fit for jagged edged roles like the gang leader in "Stand By Me", about after the death of a friend, how a writer recounts a boyhood journey to find the body of a missing young boy. His next role was that of the lead vampire in "The Lost Boys", and as Doc in "Young Guns".

In 1988, Kiefer Sutherland married actress Camelia Kath and the couple had a daughter, Sarah Jude the same year. The marriage ended after only two years. 

In 1990, Sutherland starred in the hit "Flatliners" with Kevin Bacon, where he met Julia Roberts. The two were involved in a high profile romantic relationship and were engaged to be married in the summer of  1991, but the wedding was quickly called off three days before the ceremony. Kiefer was slammed by the tabloid media and Hollywood press, and at the same time, was thrown for a loop professionally. "I wasn't prepared when the work came to an abrupt stop. I had a chip on my shoulder, and it was getting pretty heavy."

After making the smash hit "A Few Good Men" (1992) working alongside an all-star cast including Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon and Demi Moore, where in the heart of the nation's capital, in a courthouse of the U.S. government, one man will stop at nothing to keep his honor, and one will stop at nothing to find the truth. Next was the comedy "The Three Musketeers" (1993), about the three best of the disbanded Musketeers - Athos, Porthos, and Aramis - who join a young hotheaded Musketeer. Sutherland left Hollywood after that film and spent the ’90s sharpening his rodeo skills on a 900-acre ranch in Montana. He also bought the horses he rode in "Young Guns" and "Young Guns II". 

In 1993, Kiefer made his directors debut with the made for television drama "Last Light", where he also starred as a penitentiary inmate on death row. The film was very well received and earned several Cable Ace nominations. In 1996, Kiefer Sutherland married fellow Canadian Kelly Winn, a former model, then starred and directed in his first major motion picture film, "Truth or Consequences". That same year, he starred in the critically applauded film "Dark City" with Jennifer Connelly and Rufus Sewell. This was followed by his second self directed endeavor, the television movie, "Woman Wanted", in which he also starred with Michael Moriarty and Holly Hunter. 

In 1997, Kiefer returned to his roots starring with his mother in a Canadian creation of Tennessee William's play "The Glass Menagerie" at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. He next took on high profile supporting roles in films as despicable characters - playing a child slayer and rapist in "Eye For An Eye", a Ku Klux Klan thug in "A Time To Kill" working alongside an all-star cast including Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson and Sandra Bullock in this film about a young lawyer who defends a black man accused of murdering two men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.  Finally that year, the actor was cast as a serial assassin in "Freeway" which also starred Reese Witherspoon - a twisted take on 'Little Red Riding Hood' with a teenage juvenile delinquent on the run from a social worker traveling to her grandmother's house and being hounded by a charming, but sadistic, serial killer/pedophile.

Still not happy with his television and film projects, Kiefer decided to return to the rodeo circuit in 1998. He wasn't sure how long the break would last, or if he'd go back to performing at all. He found triumph again on the rodeo circuit with colleague John English, they won quite a few competitions, including first place in the ’98 U.S. Team Roping Championships.

After two years away from the limelight, Sutherland returned to Hollywood. His friend, British director, Stephen Hopkins was directing a pilot for an pioneering new television series called "24" and encouraged Sutherland to take the role of Jack Bauer. Kiefer's commanding portrayal of Federal Counter terrorism Agent, Jack Bauer, has gained him recognition as the Best Actor in a Television Drama at the 2001 Golden Globe Awards and the 2004 & 2006 SAG Awards.

Despite his hectic schedule on 24, Kiefer still finds time to continue his vocation on the big screen. He was the voice of "The Caller" in the critically celebrated film, "Phone Booth" with Colin Farrell. In 2004, he made a impressive guest appearance in the big screen adventure movie "Taking Lives" which also starred Angelina Jolie & Ethan Hawke, about an FBI profiler who is called in by French Canadian police to catch a serial killer and takes on the identity of each new victim. In 2005, Sutherland starred beside Samantha Morton in the production, "River Queen", an intimate story set during the 1860s in which a young Irish woman Sarah and her family find themselves on both sides of the turbulent wars between British and Maori during the British colonization of New Zealand.   

In 2006, Sutherland starred in the thriller, "The Sentinel", a film about a secret service agent who is framed as the mole in an assassination attempt on the president. He must clear his name and foil another assassination attempt while on the run from a relentless FBI agent. Keifer played opposite Michael Douglas and Eva Longoria. He was also featured in the Disney film, "The Wild" as the voice of Samson The Lion.

Kiefer just signed a $40 million deal with 20th Century Fox and will appear in three further seasons of "24", making him the record paid actor in a television drama. He was also promoted from Co-Executive Producer to Executive Producer of "24". He will also get a two year production development deal to develop projects for 20th Century Fox Television. "24" has just completed it's fifth and most victorious season, scoring the highest ratings in the show's history to date. Kiefer and "24" returned for a sixth season in January 2007.  There are also plans to bring "24: The Movie" to the big screen with a tentative release date set for 2009. 

Sutherland then starred in the horror film "Mirrors" (2008) about mall security guard who becomes wrapped up in a mystery involving a particular department store's mirrors which seem to bring out the worst in people. Next was the animated adventure comedy "Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009) with Reese Witherspoon, about a meteorite from outer space that hits a young girl and turns her into a giant monster, she is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a ragtag group of monsters also rounded up over the years. For 2009, Sutherland will be out with "24 The Movie" (2009) starring Kiefer and Mary Lynn Rajskub. The film is based on the real-time television series "24", which chronicles a day in the life of Federal Agent Jack Bauer. The script is finished, but production won't happen during the show's hiatus this year. More likely in summer 2008.

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