About Me
Born Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland and his twin sister, Rachel, were born on December 21, 1966 in the UK to Canadian acting parents, screen legend Donald Sutherland and the esteemed stage actress, Shirley Douglas. He is also the grandson of one of Canada's most illustrious and influential politicians, Tommy Douglas - the former Premier of Saskatchewan and the founder of the Canadian system of socialized medicine.At age 4, his parents divorced and Sutherland moved from their home in L.A. to Toronto with his mother. Kiefer spent a lot of time in the theatre with his mother and occasionally visited the movie sets where his father was working. At age 15, he caught the acting bug and he began acting in various youth theatres in Toronto. In 1984, he landed his first starring role in the 1930s coming-of-age drama, The Bay Boy - for which he won a Genie Award in 1984 (Canada's equivalent to the Academy Award)In 1988, Sutherland married actress Camelia Kath (whom he met on the set of The Killing Time) and the couple had a daughter, Sarah Jude that same year. Unfortunately, the marriage ended after two years. "I had an incredible desire at a very young age to want to be older than I was. And one of the ways you can accomplish that is to say, 'I'm married, I have kids, I've arrived' But those aren't the right reasons to do that, as we found out. Our marriage didn't last long, but we have a beautiful daughter Sarah, and I'm very fortunate that Camelia and I have ended up remaining friends."After a two year hiatus, Kiefer returned to Hollywood. His friend, British director, Stephen Hopkins was directing a pilot for an innovative new television series called "24" and encouraged him to consider the role of Jack Bauer.Kiefer's powerful portrayal of Federal Counter terrorism Agent, Jack Bauer, has earned him recognition as the Best Actor in a TV 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 work on the big screen. He was the voice of "The Caller" in the critically acclaimed film, "Phone Booth". In 2004, he made a memorable cameo appearance in the big screen thriller "Taking Lives" which also starred Angelina Jolie & Ethan HawkeIn 2005, he starred alongside Samantha Morton in the epic period drama, River Queen. In 2006, he starred in the political thriller, The Sentinel, opposite Michael Douglas and Eva Longoria. He was also featured in the Disney animated film, "The Wild" as the voice of Samson The Lion.Kiefer recently signed a $40 million deal with 20th Century Fox and will appear in three additional seasons of 24, making him the highest paid actor in a TV drama. He was also promoted from Co-Executive Producer to Executive Producer of 24. He will also get a two year production development contract to develop projects for 20th Century Fox Television.24 has just concluded it's fifth and most successul season, scoring the highest ratings in the show's history to date. Kiefer & 24 will return for a sixth season in Janary 2007. There are also plans to bring 24: The Movie to the big screen with a tentative release date set for 2008.
