Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland turns 58
The son of the acclaimed actor Donald Sutherland built a career with a name of his own over the past 40 years both on TV and the big screen, starring in popular films and shows such as “The Lost Boys,” “Stand by Me,” “Flatliners” and 24 among many others
Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland turns 58
The son of the acclaimed Canadian actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland was born together with twin sister Rachel, on December 21, 1966, in London England, named after American-born writer and director Warren Kiefer, who directed Donald Sutherland in his first feature film. Kiefer’s full name is Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland. The actor started his career during the 1980’s when he was a teenager, earning his first lead role in the Canadian drama “The Bay Boy” (1984). In 1986 he got an important role in one of the decade’s most memorable movies, the coming-of-age Rob Reine’s drama “Stand by Me” alongside River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton and Jerry O’Connell. His breakthrough role was in 1987 when he played David, the Vampire leader in famous Joel Schumacher movie “The Lost Boys”. The following year, 1988, he starred in “Young Guns”, alongside several actors of his generation that became Hollywood stars.
During the 1990’s Kiefer continued to appear in several hit movies that included “Flatliners (1990)” where he met his future fiancée Julia Roberts (however the couple never got married), “A Few Good Men” (1992), “The Three Musketeers” (1993) and a “A Time to Kill” (1996). Throughout most of the 1980’s and 1990’s, Kiefer Sutherland was cast as an antagonist or villain, a trend that fade away during the 2000’s. Among some of his best-known films of the last 20 years are “Beat”(2000) where he plays the role of the legendary writer William Burroughs alongside Courtney Love, “Mirrors” 2008, “Melancholia” (2011), “Pompeii” (2014) and “Flatliners” (2017). Since 2001, Sutherland has been associated most widely with the role of Jack Bauer on the acclaimed television series “24.” Sutherland won the award “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series” Primetime Emmy Award in 2006 for his role in 24’s fifth season after being nominated four times. He was also nominated for Best actor in a Drama Television Series at the 2007 Golden Globe Awards for 24. In 2006, his salary of $40 million for three seasons of the show made him the highest-earning actor on television
Over the years Kiefer Sutherland has open up during interviews to some curious facts of his acting career, two are particularly interesting, one being that in 1984 he was one of the contenders for the role of Glen Lantz in the original “A Nightmare on Elm Street” but Johnny Depp got the role and secured his first feature film debut. In 2012 he also stated that back in 1991, he had declined director Gus Van Sant’s offer to star in the lead role in the cult movie “My Own Private Idaho”, a decision that he regretted. According to him “I passed on My 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.” River Phoenix got the role, starring alongside Keanu Reeves. Phoenix was awarded for his performance in “My Own Private Idaho,” the heaviest of all his movies. Kiefer Sutherland turns 58 today.
Look back at Kiefer Sutherland in a scene from The Lost Boys, 1987 where he played his breakthrough role as the vampire leader David
Kiefer Sutherland as Beat writer and poet William Burroughs in the biopic Beat, 2000
Also watch Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer in 24 Top 10 Badass Moments
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