Highly decorated actor Kiefer Sutherland has, in his career spanning over four decades, amassed several notable honors. He has a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards to his name – to name just a few. Yet, Sutherland reveals, he actually has quite a hard time in Hollywood, especially when it comes to job security.
Sutherland appeared at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, and while walking the red carpet he spoke with Fox News about the lesser-known challenges of working in Hollywood, even for established stars like himself. The son of actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, he has been exposed to the ins and outs of the industry all his life. Here’s what he has to share.
Kiefer Sutherland sheds light on the truth about working in Hollywood
During his talk with Fox, Sutherland, 57, admitted that even now, he hasn’t quite settled into his career. “Does that exist?” he mused. “You know, there have been moments where I felt calmer than others.” The sense of normalcy that comes with a regular 9 to 5 has usually eluded him – but not always.
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“I think ’24’ for me was a fantastic opportunity because it was the first thing that felt like a real job,” he went on. “I went to work five days a week, eight months to 10 months a year, and then I was lucky enough to do it nine years in a row. So, there was a moment where that made me feel calmer.”
Sutherland continues at the same usual erratic pace of Hollywood
24 gave him a reliable kind of routine – though that too ended up temporary, as Sutherland added, “But I’m back to the every three months I’m out of a job kind of thing.”
Aware that the position he’s in is relatively comfortable compared to most, however, Sutherland added, “I’ve been so fortunate, I’m certainly not going to complain about that. But it does take a certain kind of wear, you know.”
The role of Jack Bauer in 24 is perhaps one of Sutherland’s biggest roles of late, but he’s also known for A Time to Kill, A Few Good Men, and Stand By Me. But as far as the most influential to the world of cinema, Sutherland doesn’t pick any of his films for that honor – he picks one of his dad’s.
“I’m not gonna put them in any particular order,” explained Sutherland, “but I’m gonna pick five films. I’m gonna pick Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now, which is a film my father was in. I think it changed cinema. Nick Roeg has an opening that is all flash cuts.”
That being said, if 24 were to ever continue, Sutherland is all for it, whether it changes the industry or not. “It was one of the greatest experiences I’ve had in my career,” he gushed, “and I loved the character. And I’m so appreciative of the fans that liked it.”
