Biography

   His mother, Shirley Douglas, was an actress of American and Canadian theatre, television, and film. She was also the daughter of Tommy Douglas, co-founder and first leader of Canadas New Democratic Party. She therefore had a developed social conscience, which would also later influence Kiefer. His father, Donald Sutherland, a film actor, began to gain recognition with the critical success of the 1970 Comedy-Drama M*A*S*H*. The influence from his father is also undeniable. The family lived in LA until 1971, when at the age of 4, his parents divorced. He moved with his mother, sister and stepbrother to Toronto. His father remained in LA to continue his budding film career. From a very young age, Kiefer traveled back and forth between California and Canada. A child of two parents, and two countries, and yet, arguably belonging to neither. This is the beginning of what became a restless, spirited, search for his true nature.
   She turned her back on the facade of Hollywood. Conversely, she embraced the social turmoil in the front lines of the American 70's protest movement. And with her, went Kiefer. At age 6, he marched in his first demonstration, with a broken leg.
   In 1977, at age 11, he was back in Toronto acting with his mother in the play Throne of Straw. He was a child of the theatre and no stranger to the stage or movie sets, however, he had yet to appreciate "acting." He aspired to be a rock and roll musician or professional hockey player, until he saw one special performance.
   From that moment on, Kiefer was truly inspired to become an actor, but he was too embarrassed to tell his parents. By the age of 15, he had acted on his own in numerous Toronto theatre youth clubs.
   Kiefer Sutherland attended Saint Andrews College, a secondary school in Ottawa. He participated in track and also marched in the school's band.

   He was kicked out of school at age 15. When he talked to his parents, he told them that he wouldnt go to school and that he was determined to study acting despite their wishes.
   After discussing what to do, Kiefers parents allowed him to stay in Toronto to act as long as he continued his education. Despite the fact that his parents were both actors, they didnt support their sons career choice. And though his father was a famous actor, with outstanding credits and experience, his only advice about acting for Kiefer was: "dont get caught lying." To get his son started in the acting profession, Donald Sutherland gave his 15-year-old son a part as an extra in Max Dugan Returns.
   In 1984, he got his first leading role in the coming-of-age drama called "The Bay Boy". He plays a teenage boy growing up in a small, impoverished Canadian town in the 1940s. His performance was nominated for a Genie award, which is the Canadian equivalent to the Academy Award. When he moved to New York City at the age of 16 and a half, he earned $4,000 from modeling for a Levis Jeans advertisement.
   In 1986, he got a small part in the Stephen Spielberg directed show "Amazing Stories". Soon after that, he got his first parts in three films in the United States, "At Close Range", "Trapped in Silence", and "Stand By Me". Based on a novel by Stephen King, "Stand By Me" was a movie in which he first established himself as one of Hollywoods best up-and-coming young villain actors. Later that year, he co-starred with Keanu Reeves in a movie made for television called "The Brotherhood of Justice". Sutherland was back again the next year starring as a vampire prince in the cult horror film "The Lost Boys".
   In 1988, Kiefer Sutherland married Camelia Kath, who was 14 years his senior. Later that year they had a daughter, Sarah Jude. He continued to pursue his quickly developing career, starring as Josiah Doc Schurloc in "Young Guns" with Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, about the wild life Billy the kid and his cohorts. He later played the same character in the sequel which was released in 1990.
   That same year, he starred opposite Dennis Hopper in the generation clash comedy, "Flashback". And in the movie "Flatliners", about medical students playing with death, he starred with Julia Roberts and Kevin Bacon. After only 2 years of marriage, Camelia Kath and Kiefer Sutherland divorced.
   It seemed as though Sutherland was going to be featured in or involved with at least one film every year, and that was essentially what happened until 1991. That year, he and actress, Julia Roberts, whom he had met on the set of "Flatliners", were planning to marry later that year in June. Unfortunately, they broke up six days before the wedding.

   In the span between 1994 and 1995 he acted in "Teresas Tattoo", "Cowboy Way", "Duke of Groove", and "Hourglass". At the age of 30, Kiefer joined Shirley Douglas once again on the stage. Mother and son reunited on stage in the Tennessee Williams play The Glass Menagerie.

   In 1996, Kiefer seemed to be on villain spree; acting as racists, pedophiles, and murdering rapists. Kiefers performance in "A Time to Kill" was nominated for a MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for his performance as a Mississippi Klu Klux Klan member and the brother of a rapist. Later that year, he starred opposite Reese Witherspoon in "Freeway", a twisted, modernized interpretation of the story of Little Red Riding-hood. In the movie "Eye for an Eye", Sally Field portrays a mother who takes justice into her own hands against the man who raped and murdered her daughter. Kiefer Sutherland said that when he was preparing to portray the rapist and murderer, he imagined and imitated the worst possible person that could threaten his own daughter.
   Despite the fact that Kiefer was playing so many villain roles, love was in the air. Kiefer and former model from Toronto, Kelly Winn, were married in 1996. The following year, he directed and acted in the action film "Truth or Consequences, N.M.". Kiefer was too busy acting and directing his film to do much else that year. However, he did have enough time to spare his voice for two animated films. He did the voice of the prince in "The Nutcracker Prince", and the animé sequel, "Armitage III: Polymatrix" he does the voice of a police officer who tries to help an android woman.
   In 1998, Kiefer acted in a few films, each having a unique story and playing a completely different character. He starred as a Vietnam soldier in "A Soldier's Sweetheart" and as an air traffic controller in "Ground Control". And in the critically acclaimed science-fiction mystery "Dark City", Kiefer plays a human doctor who helps aliens with an experiment on the human soul.
   Sutherland, however, was not pleased with the work he had been doing, and felt he needed a break from the limelight. So in 1998 he decided to join the rodeo circuit, competing with John English. They worked as a team; English roped the head of the cow, while Sutherland roped the legs, eventually winning several United States Team Roping Championships.
   While he was getting ready to return to his old life, films he acted in were still being released. One was "Picking Up the Pieces", a film about a small New Mexico town, where the hand of a mans murdered wife is believed to be the hand of the Virgin and is praised for its healing powers. As his career was coming back together, his personal life was falling apart. The three-year marriage to Kelly Winn ended in 1999, due to Kiefers work commitment.
Two years after taking a break from the Hollywood limelight, he returned to his acting profession in independent and straight-to-video films. "Beat" about musician William S. Burroughs and the William Tell-type murder of his second wife. Another was the murder mystery "After Alice" about a washed-up cop who takes a hard knock to the head, and as a result, can touch the body of a murdered person and can re-experience their death.
Even though Kiefer never fulfilled his childhood dreams of becoming a professional hockey player or rock musician, he devoted his time to charities and helped bands to get their music heard. He has played hockey in celebrity charity games and helped with other charity events, such as auctions. These events funded foundations such as the Starlight Childrens Foundation and the Breast cancer society. He also became a spokesperson for Canadian Medicare along with his mother.
   And to help new musicians, he established Ironworks studios with singer/songwriter friend Jude Cole. The facility was constructed in an abandoned warehouse. They record talented up-and-coming bands, with hopes of getting noticed and making it big.
   In 2000, he was given a script for two new shows. One was a television spin-off of the movie "LA Confidential", in which he would have played Kevin Spaceys role from the film. It began shooting for the FOX network but didnt survive long enough to be aired. He accepted the offer to act in the second television show, and in the process, it helped Kiefer Sutherland to become recognized again in Hollywood. "24", known for its unique editing style and intelligent suspense, was Emmy nominated two years in a row, and the series cast was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award. Kiefer won two Golden Satellite Awards, a Screen Actors Guild award and a Golden Globe award for his performance as Counter-terrorist Agent Jack Bauer.
   The 24 filming schedule takes a few months at a time, but the weekends are free for the actors to relax. Kiefer likes to spend this time with his daughter, Sarah Jude. Taking her to movie premieres and teaching her how to drive, which he admits isnt exactly relaxing.
   Once "24" had made him more recognizable, he was given numerous opportunities. He narrated for shows, movies, and commercials. He lent his voice to the National Geographic channel documentary, "Doctors without boarders" and the IMAX movie "The NASCAR experience", as well as commercials for Ford motor company, MCI telephone service, and National Hockey League commercials.
   In addition to commercials and narration jobs, he was given opportunities to act. In the SHOTIME movie "Behind the Red Door", he plays Roy, the brother of a woman who visits him after several years of separation, and finds out he is dying of AIDS. While she cares for her dying brother, she searches for the answers to her mothers murder. This emotional and vividly filmed masterpiece was based on the life of the director, Matia Karrell.
   After the first season of 24, Kiefers film career slowly began to rise to the level of success that of his earlier films. "Desert Saints", "Cowboy Up", "Phone Booth", and recently "Taking Lives" brought his film career back to life.
   In "Desert Saints", he plays Banks, a contract killer who picks up women who have no where to go, makes them perform various errands, then when hes done with the job, he kills them.
   Things get really dangerous in "Cowboy Up" when a bull-rider, who was badly injured when competing, begins to compete again, despite his familys wishes. Eventually brothers are torn apart by jealousy and betrayal after he is seen with the girl his brother loves. In most of his films, Kiefer is known to perform his own stunts. He was even buried alive in "The Vanishing". But when it came to dancing with a real bull in "Cowboy Up", he left it to the professionals. Stuntman, Dennis Borba, was hired to play the more dangerous parts of the film.
   In the Hitchcock-type thriller, "Phone Booth", he plays a sniper who torments a man in a phone booth. And in spring of 2004, "Taking Lives" was released. This movie, about a man who kills people and steals their identities, he starred with Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke.
   As for the future of Sutherland's career, it keeps progressing. He plans on returning to 24 for a fourth season and is working on a Disney animated film, The Wild, in which he plays a lion in a zoo named Samson.
   Over a span of 28 years, Kiefer Sutherland has left his mark on the entertainment industry. Winner of both American and Canadian movie and television awards. A man of two countries and many passions, he is unbound by Hollywood; joining the rodeo circuit and devoting his time to helping people in need. He has directed, acted and produced, played villains and heroes, been featured in blockbusters and a few bombs; thus reaching all ends of many spectrums. And with every role and assignment, he is still trying, and succeeding, in not getting caught lying.