LMR comment: The interview below is a good enough reason for me not to watch 24. I haven't watched 24 since this interview. Garofalo needs to take a chill pill (maybe with a cup of tea) and quit her tirades. Keith Olberman is becoming more desperate - if that is possible. Enough said.

Twelve / USA (Director: Joel Schumacher; Screenwriter: Jordan Melamed)—A chronicle of the highs and lows of privileged kids on Manhattan’s Upper East Side involving sex, drugs and murder. Cast: Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland, 50 Cent, Zoë Kravitz. World Premiere CLOSING NIGHT FILM

Note: If you haven’t seen Monsters vs. Aliens, you may want to read the interview below after you have seen it. The interviewer asks Kiefer about his favorite scene.

Kiefer Sutherland Q&A
femalefirst.co.uk
November 4, 2009

Kiefer Sutherland may be best know for his role as Jack Bauer but it's his voice on show in this week's DVD release of Monsters vs Aliens.

Sutherland voices the character General W.R. Monger who heads a top-secret prison facility which is home to a series of 'monsters'.

Hi Kiefer. When your Monsters vs. Aliens co-stars and directors talk about you they say the same thing and that is you are a funny guy and natural comedian. Why don't you do more comedy? We always tend to see you in tough guy roles like 24.

Comedy is actually not something I've ever been comfortable with. It's very different to going out with a bunch of friends and being funny than actually being able to be funny on a film set.

Earlier on, in theatre school I would butcher some of the funniest scenes I've ever seen in my life. Comedy has such a specific requirement.

It's set up so that on the fourth line, you have to get the laugh and if you're not getting the laugh, you panic. It wasn't something I've ever felt really comfortable with.

You must have been nervous then doing Monsters vs. Aliens.

One of the nice things about doing an animated film is that you're not limited by your own physicality. There's a real freedom in that. You can try and do something different.

Certainly over my career, from Stand By Me to Lost Boys and some of the things I did early on, no one ever asked me to be funny, so it was kind of a mutual agreement that my career would go in that direction (laughs).

If it wasn't the comedy, what was it about playing General W.R. Monger in Monsters vs. Aliens that attracted you? Did you want to do something completely different to 24?

No. The main reason I chose to do this character was that here is a guy who has been removed from society on a large level, so I think that makes people eccentric and kind of odd.

He's a general so I gave him a little bit of a hint of southern flair. All of these things were a lot of fun to do. It was not a choice based on what I was doing with 24 or anything else.

Did you find making an animated movie more exhausting than 24?

Sometimes it may take five hours to get four lines right. And (puts on General's loud voice) "When you talk like this" (yells) it takes a lot out of your energy and voice when you do that for four hours straight.

What was fun about making this movie?

They have taken everything to such a heightened state with this movie. Even my voice is off the chart. I think that's what's fun about the film.

You are in the public eye. The paparazzi follow you and the tabloids often have stories about you. Do you ever feel exposed like your character?

My character has a very gruff exterior but he has a lot of compassion for these monsters. He's very sensitive. I personally don't feel exposed. I was fortunate to have a father who was very successful, so I knew when I made the choice to go into acting what I was getting myself into.

I knew what was coming with it if I became successful. When it did it was a lot easier for me to handle than other friends of mine.

Is there a moral message in Monsters vs. Aliens?

This film is designed for children, although I believe that it's done a beautiful job balancing the subtext so it's enjoyable for an adult as well. But if you're going to find a moral, it's to be more accepting of what people are, rather than what you perceive them to be.

Do you feel you have embraced yourself?

I always feel I'm a work in progress (laughs). I think until the day you die that is the case. The day I wake up and think "Wow, I've figured it all out," I will be amazed. I have never gone through a single day where I don't think I could have done something better.. It could be something simple. A work-related thing.

I have two daughters and have raised four children. I wish I had more time for that. I wish I could balance my time better. I have always kind of looked at life like that. There is no finish line. You have to try and learn as much as you can every day.

Monsters vs. Aliens is inspired by the old 1950s horror movies. Do you like watching those old movies?

Absolutely. That's what I find so amusing about Monsters vs. Aliens. I'll give you an example. I remember seeing a movie when I was 12 called The Car. It scared the hell out of me.

Recently a friend gave me a copy of it so I watched it again thinking I would be terrified. I wasn't. It wasn't scary at all.

What is your favourite scene in Monsters vs. Aliens?

That wonderful scene when he puts Ginormica in the cell with the other monsters and she starts to cry. The passion of the film is you feel for these characters.

More than 20 years ago you starred in the vampire film The Lost Boys. Now Twilight is such a huge film. What do you think about that?

I think the vampire genre is a wonderful genre. I haven't had a chance to see Twilight yet, although I did see some Twilight commercials where people are flying through the air and I thought "Yeah, I remember doing that" (laughs). I hope they had as much fun making Twilight as we did with Lost Boys. The Lost Boys had a huge impression on my life.

Thanks Kiefer.

It has been a pleasure.

Monsters vs aliens is out on DVD now.

Kiefer Sutherland chairs CFC's actors program
cbcnews.ca
September 13, 2009

Kiefer Sutherland, the Canadian star of the hit TV series 24, has been named the chair of the Canadian Film Centre's Actors Conservatory.

The program, which provides extensive on-screen training for actors, is supported by Canwest and the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation. It will officially launch on Sept. 21.

Participants and mentors are yet to be announced for the first five-month session of the program.

"I am honoured to contribute to Norman Jewison's legacy by offering the CFC my passion for storytelling, for Canada and its talent," the actor said in a statement released on Sunday. "The Actors Conservatory will have significant influence on the professional and creative lives of the actors attending and on our industry."

Sutherland, 42, an Emmy and Genie award winner, is the son of Canadian actors Shirley Douglas and Donald Sutherland.

Christine Shipton, senior vice-president of drama and factual programming at Canwest, hailed Sutherland's participation.

"With Kiefer Sutherland's commitment, the conservatory will not only generate renewed enthusiasm for Canadian actors but will help take our Canadian programming efforts to the next level," she said.

The conservatory — which will train and promote experienced screen and stage actors in Canada — was announced a year ago.

Funding for the program included a $1-million gift from the Linehan Foundation, which was created in memory of celebrity interviewer Brian Linehan, who died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2004.

Kiefer Sutherland to chair Actors Conservatory
The Globe and Mail
September 15, 2009

Canadian star Kiefer Sutherland has been named the inaugural chair of the Canadian Film Centre's new Actors Conservatory.

The award-winning Canuck, best known as Jack Bauer on the television hit 24, was announced yesterday at the Film Centre's annual barbecue, which traditionally draws huge crowds away from the Toronto International Film Festival to the Bayview Avenue estate which houses the Centre.

The creation of the Actors Conservatory was unveiled at last year's barbecue, backed by the support of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation and Canwest, and tagged as the first Canadian outfit to both train and properly market established young actors of stage and screen as future stars. The program's first five-month session will launch on Sept. 21. As chair, Sutherland is expected to be hands-on, giving master classes and luring some of his accomplished compatriots as fellow mentors.

"I am honoured to contribute to [CFC founder] Norman Jewison's legacy by offering the CFC my passion for storytelling, for Canada and its talent," Sutherland said yesterday.

WHY '24' SEASON EIGHT COULD BE THE SHOW'S LAST
By Abbie Bernstein - Contributing Writer
iFMagazine.com
August 6, 2009

Only time will tell, but Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly says they're going to have to sort it out in the next couple of months

LOCATION: Pasadena, CA

THE SKINNY: Could time be running out for 24. At today’s Summer TCA Press Tour, iF spoke with Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly who says the popular real-time drama could potentially be entering its last season.

“It’s our last contractual season of 24,” he says. “There are a lot of moving parts, so we’re not sure what will happen after that.”

Reilly does say Kiefer Sutherland is still as enthusiastic as the first day he began on the show and that another season or possibly a theatrical movie isn’t out of the question.

“We haven’t made any decision whether it’s back or not,” Reilly admits. “The producers are passionate, Kiefer is passionate and we don’t have any of them looking to jump ship. It’s a show we’re really proud of. It’s going to come down to a business decision. It’s not an inexpensive show on the network books and we also want to finish strong. This is not a show we want to prop up. It will be a whole creative and business discussion and something we’ll have to deal with over the next few months.”

Sutherland's lawyer says actor wasn't instigator
By Colleen Long
The Associated Press
May 11, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) — An investigation by New York City officials into a charge Kiefer Sutherland head-butted a fashion designer at a nightclub will show the star of TV's "24" was not a wrongdoer or instigator, his attorney said Monday. Sutherland was charged Thursday with third-degree assault in the incident a week ago at a nightclub at the trendy Mercer Hotel in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan.

The designer, Jack McCollough of the high-end Proenza Schouler fashion house, claims Sutherland broke his nose after an argument at about 2 a.m. Tuesday. Police are also planning to question actress Brooke Shields as a witness.

Representatives for the three celebrities worked to clear up rumors after initially refusing to comment to the Associated Press.

"We are troubled by the untruthful and self-serving information circulating regarding Kiefer Sutherland and events of last Monday evening," attorney Michael Miller said in a statement. "Out of respect for this law enforcement process, Kiefer Sutherland will not be making any comment."

Representatives for McCollough said the designer's injuries were more serious than what was initially noted on the police report. McCollough's nose was broken in several places and he had to seek medical treatment after the altercation. The police report says he suffered a cut on his nose.

Shields' attorney, Gerald Lefcourt, wouldn't comment on whether she had been interviewed by police in the case. He said that many statements had been falsely attributed to Shields regarding the incident, and were likely made by people not at the scene.

"While at the party, she was bumped into by Jack McCollough and Kiefer Sutherland became concerned," Lefcourt said in a statement. "Kiefer has always been a gentleman in her company. Both Jack and Kiefer are friends of Ms. Shields and she regrets this unfortunate situation."

No decision has been made on whether the New York City charge will affect Sutherland's probation for a drunken-driving conviction in Los Angeles.

Sutherland pleaded no contest in October 2007 to driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. He served 30 days in jail, in addition to 18 days for violating probation in a 2004 drunken-driving arrest.

Sutherland, who plays dashing federal counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer on "24," won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for best actor, and has been nominated multiple times for his work on the wildly popular show. The seventh season airs on Mondays on FOX.

Exclusive: '24' moving to New York!
By Michael Ausiello
EW.com
April 14, 2009

After six seasons in Los Angeles and one in D.C., Jack Bauer is taking his one-man show to Broadway!

Sources confirm to me exclusively that 24 will be relocating to New York next season -- at least on screen. (The show will still be primarily shot in Los Angeles, with some NY location footage mixed in.)

Production on Day 8 gets underway next month, but already details are emerging. In addition to the move to the Big Apple, CTU will make a comeback under the leadership of a new, yet-to-be-cast male character by the name of Brian Hastings. Described as an MBA type with a razor sharp intellect, Hastings will be joined by two new twentysomething agents (one male, one female), as well as Mary Lynn Rajskub's returning Chloe.

As previously reported, Slumdog Millionaire's smarmy game show host, Anil Kapoor, is joining the cast as Arman Hashemi, a Middle Eastern leader on a peacemaking mission in the U.S. Casting is underway for the roles of his brother and wife.

Thoughts on 24's move to the city that never sleeps?

'Slumdog' star lands regular role on '24'
zap2it
April 4, 2009

There are still eight hours to go in the seventh season of "24," but the show has already landed its first major new face for next season.

"Slumdog Millionaire" star Anil Kapoor will join the FOX series as a regular for season eight. It will be the first American TV role for the Bollywood star.

Kapoor will be playing a leader of an unnamed Middle Eastern nation who comes to the United States on a peace mission. FOX isn't saying more than that, but we'll go ahead and venture a guess that something during the day will cause the peace mission to go horribly awry and bring Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) into the situation.

Kapoor is one of the most well-known actors in India. He has more than 100 credits to his name and has won several awards in his home country. He also earned a Screen Actors Guild award this year as part of the "Slumdog Millionaire" ensemble.

The current season of "24" will conclude with a two-hour finale on Monday, May 18.

24 Thinks Slumdog Millionaire Star Is on the Money
By Matt Mitovich
TV Guide
April 3, 2009

Who wants to cast a Slumdog Millionaire star? 24 does.

Fox's hit drama has announced that Anil Kapoor, who played game show host Prem Kumar on the Oscars-winning indie, will be a part of the cast for Season 8, premiering in early 2010. Just last week, 24 star Kiefer Sutherland announced his plan to stick around for at least one more of Jack Bauer's very bad days.

In Season 8, Kapoor will play a Middle Eastern leader who comes to the U.S. on a peacemaking mission.

24's current "day" continues this Monday at 9 pm/ET, with the FBI engaging in a standoff against Starkwood's private military. The two-hour Season 7 finale is slated to air Monday, May 18.

U.S. actor Kiefer Sutherland poses as General W.R. Monger in "Monsters vs. Aliens" during an interview in Hong Kong Tuesday, March 23, 2009. Sutherland, who provides the voice for General W.R. Monger in the animation film, will be back to play Jack Bauer for an eighth season of the hit counterterrorism drama "24," but the show's longevity will depend on its writers, the actor said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Sutherland says he's on for 8th '24' season
By Min Lee - The Associated Press
March 24, 2009

HONG KONG (AP) — Kiefer Sutherland will be back to play Jack Bauer for an eighth season of the hit counterterrorism drama "24," but the show's longevity will depend on its writers, the actor said Tuesday.

The 42-year-old said "24," currently in its seventh season, will start shooting its eighth in May. He spoke during an interview in Hong Kong to promote the new 3-D animated movie "Monsters vs. Aliens," in which he voices the character of General W.R. Monger.

Sutherland, whose gritty portrayal of the counterterrorism agent has made Bauer an iconic character, said he's committed to the show that's revived his career.

"If I was going to liken '24' to a girlfriend, '24' has been really good to me. And I need to be really good back," Sutherland said.

"There are plays I want to do. There are so many different things I would like to do, but I was so fortunate to be part of something like '24' that my focus is still on that right now," he said.

Sutherland said the show's future also hinges on its writers' ability to shape its story.

"The real pressure is placed on the writers. It's a real question about how much they feel they can give and what they can do," he said.

Sutherland, whose movie credits include "Young Guns" and "A Few Good Men," said he hasn't thought much about his career after "24" and isn't worried about being typecast as a Bauer-like government agent.

"I will do the work I want to do and people can accept it or not," he said.

Working as a voice actor on "Monsters vs. Aliens" was a "fantastic counterbalance" to playing Bauer, he said.

"The relief was unbelievable. For five days a week, 14 hours a day, I'm doing Jack Bauer on '24' and then for five hours on the weekend, I got to kind of proverbially let my hair down and play this character and talk like that and be a kid. I felt like a 5-year-old," said Sutherland, simulating the deep, raspy voice of his character.

"Monsters vs. Aliens," which is about a jailed group of monsters who are freed to help battle an alien robot, opens in U.S. theaters Friday.

Kiefer Sutherland embraces a new role
By John Hiscock – Special to the Toronto Star
March 24, 2009

Los Angeles–Kiefer Sutherland has dialled down the reckless behaviour that earned him a reputation as a hard-drinking womanizer in his younger days and replaced it with hard work and a new love.

Sutherland, who earns $30 million (U.S.) a year as counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer on the hit show 24, spent his weekends off from the gruelling series working on a movie last year.

He opted for a complete change of pace with the 3D-animated comedy Monsters vs. Aliens, in which he provides one of the voices. It opens Friday.

"We shot it while I was making 24, so for five days a week, 14 hours a day, I was very serious with 24, then suddenly, for six hours on a weekend, I got to have fun," he recalled. "I'd forgotten how much fun acting can be. We laughed a lot and I felt I was 5 years old again. It was a fantastic counter-balance to working on 24."

His years of drinking saw Sutherland make headlines and end up with 140 stitches after bar fights. Three years ago, Sutherland famously attacked a Christmas tree in the lobby of London's Strand Palace Hotel and a year later, he spent the holiday in jail after being arrested for drunken driving for the second time.

"I'm very happy at this point in my life and that's a large part of it," he says of his new approach to life.

A big part of it is the relationship he's been in for the past year with Siobhan Bonnouvrier, a style director at Allure magazine.

In Monsters vs. Aliens, Sutherland provides the voice of Gen. W.R. Monger, the commander of a secret government compound, which houses all the monsters on Earth. When aliens invade the planet, he convinces the president the monsters can defeat the invaders.

"One of the things I really liked about the character is that although he has the responsibility of incarcerating and managing these monsters, I think he feels bad about it because he realizes they're not the dangerous, evil monsters that everybody else perceives them to be, but they've been put away simply because they're different," he said.

"I love the message of this film, which is geared to young people and is telling them that it's all right to be different."

Sutherland looked relaxed in a black T-shirt and slacks as he talked in a suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills during a worldwide promotional swing for the movie.

One city missing from the tour, however, is Toronto, where the British-born Sutherland was raised and to which he still has strong emotional ties. Until three years ago, he also had a house here.

"I had it for the longest time, but to keep the pipes warm in the winter I decided to let it go when I realized that 24 was not going to end overnight," he said. "But I consider myself a Canadian and my family is still there, so it is somewhere that I expect to get back to at some point."

Sutherland's Canadian roots run deep. His grandfather, Tommy Douglas, was the first socialist premier of Saskatchewan from 1944-1961. Sutherland's father, actor Donald Sutherland, was born in New Brunswick and his mother, actor Shirley Douglas, and his twin sister Rachel still live in Toronto.

Sutherland is currently on a break from 24, which begins filming its eighth season in May, bringing with it more romance for Jack Bauer and FBI agent Renee Walker, played by Annie Wersching.

"We figured if you can't fall in love under the circumstances of life and death you're in big trouble," laughed Sutherland, who works closely with the writers in devising the shows plotlines. "One of the things that has brought them together so quickly is this desperate need for each other to survive. Nothing brings people closer together than that."

Sutherland first became interested in acting while he was at St. Andrew's College in Aurora, north of Toronto. Then he saw his mother in the play Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and decided he wanted to act.

When he was 16, he landed a role in the Canadian feature The Bay Boy.

The following year he moved to Los Angeles and lived out of his car for a few months before moving into a house with fellow struggling actors Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert Downey Jr. and Billy Zane.

His breakout roles in Stand By Me (1986) and The Lost Boys (1987) took him to the brink of stardom, but his life and career went downhill amid bouts of wild living and some bad movie choices.

Disheartened and disillusioned, he retreated to a cattle ranch he bought in California's Santa Ynez Valley, took up steer roping and travelled the rodeo circuit winning a number of competitions.

Then the script for 24 came along and, as he says, his life turned around. His fondness for tattoos, however, keeps the show's makeup artists busy concealing them.

"I have a lot of tattoos and it's kind of a disease," he laughed.

"You get the first one and then if it matters to you, you get more. I got my first tattoo when I was 16 and had just left home, and I was really scared so a couple of friends and I went and got tattoos as a kind of bonding thing. "

The tattoo he chose was a Chinese symbol meaning "strength" with a heart in the middle.

"From then on, any time I went through something in my life that mattered to me I had this desire to make a tattoo out of it. I kept going and I have a lot of them.

"There are times when it is difficult – certainly when I work I have to cover them up – and there are times also when I've seen a picture of myself when I had none and think that maybe I shouldn't have got any. But most of the time it's a nice map for myself about the journey of my own life."

Sutherland vs. monsters and aliens
By Jamie Portman
Canwest News Service
March 24, 2009

BEVERLY HILLS - He's the star and mainstay of 24, a groundbreaking television series.

Furthermore, despite the gruelling demands of portraying Jack Bauer on the small screen, he still finds time for other acting opportunities - most recently in supplying the rasping voice of a jingoistic American general in the animated Monsters vs. Aliens.

But if you tell Kiefer Sutherland that he has it made, you're in for an argument. This most personable of Canadian actors believes in tough self-analysis. Forget those acting awards and the international stardom and the million-dollar pay cheques. He still believes he's capable of more.

"I still feel at the age of 42 that I haven't made the film I want to make. I still feel there is so much to do."

He reminds you of the many bumps along the way, both professionally and personally, since he first attracted attention in the 1984 Canadian film, The Bay Boy.

"It's up and down," he says matter-of-factly. "That's exactly what it has been. I started up and managed to do films like Stand By Me, Lost Boys and Flatliners - things that took off very well. Then there was a bit of a lull, and then I got to do things like A Few Good Men and Dark City. It has gone up and down."

But he never stopped working.

"Work breeds work in our business, and it still does," he says. "But there were huge disappointments."

He even feared 24 might be another disappointment - despite the belief of everyone connected with its 2001 launch that they were onto something fresh and exciting, with their concept of a television suspense series covering 24 hours of action in real time.

"I have to tell you that when we shot the pilot of 24, we didn't even think it would get picked up or turn into what it's become.

So you have to be able to take the good with the bad. I have still been able to make a living as an actor my entire adult life, and for that I'm eternally grateful."

But he's still nagged by that feeling that he hasn't yet reached his potential. He's chatting with Canwest News Service in the quiet of a Beverly Hills Hotel suite just minutes after he completed a press conference downstairs.

He's slender and wiry in a black T-shirt and black jeans. Tattoos are visible on his upper arms. There may be a few lines around the eyes, but the boyish enthusiast of a quarter of a century ago is still present - along with a new maturity and candour.

And as he assesses his future, he continues to be stirred by the example of his distinguished father, Donald Sutherland.

"I would break our industry into three categories: You have movies, you have film, and you have cinema. Movies are those great big blockbusters of the summer, and they're fun and they're easy to go to. Films require a little more thought - and then there's cinema, which is what we do as art," he says. "Off the top of my head, I can say that Fellini's Casanova, Bertolucci's 1900 and Nic Roeg's Don't Look Now were all cinema to me. Those were three of my father's films, and I couldn't tell you a single thing of mine that would enter into that category, and I would like to be able to say at the end of my career that there were a couple of those things."

Sutherland also doesn't think he's very good at comedy, despite the congratulations he's receiving for the role of cantankerous general W.R. Monger in Monsters vs. Aliens. This is the colourful officer who decides the best way to stop invading aliens is to turn a team of home bred monsters loose on them.

"I wasn't trained in comedy," Sutherland says flatly. "I don't have the expertise." He remembers years ago seeing a series of camera commercials featuring fellow Canadian Martin Short. "He was unbelievable." Sutherland was 15 at the time and he knew he'd better be "very good" at drama because he lacked Short's comic gifts. "It's not something innate in me."

Sutherland drew on two sources in creating the general's unique voice. One came from Lee Ermey's demonic performance as a sadistic drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket. The other was a Warner Brothers cartoon icon - the irascible and crusty-voiced Yosemite Sam who was constantly seeking to annihilate Bugs Bunny.

As he worked in the recording studio, Sutherland kept thinking of Sam's trademark declaration - "I hate rabbits!"

"He's such an eccentric, grumpy old guy," Sutherland says affectionately. "The general likes his monsters and the one thing I love about this movie is that it tells children that it's all right to be different - and not only that it's all right to be different, but that the things that make you uncomfortable about being different can be your greatest quality. That allows Gen. Monger to save the planet.

The Press Association: Kiefer takes inspiration from Bugs
March 16, 2009

Kiefer Sutherland has revealed he drew inspiration from a Bugs Bunny character for his role in new animation movie Monsters Vs Aliens.

The 24 star voices the part of military-lifer General Monger in the 3D film and said he was influenced by a range of different characters.

He said: "Obviously there were requirements, this was a life-long military man and one of the voices I loved was that of the Sergeant in Full Metal Jacket which was a very serious performance - this was to be much more fun. In my head I love the character of Yosemite Sam, who is in a lot of the Bugs Bunny cartoons, the voice was really an effort to bring those two together."

He added that anything that made the producer and directors laugh was a winner for him.

Kiefer said: "I was messing around with that and Lisa (Stewart, the producer) and Conrad (Vernon, the director) laughed and I'm pretty easy for a laugh so we went forward with that.”

Monsters Vs Aliens opens on April 3.

The Press Association: Kiefer Sutherland in comedy?
March 13, 2009

Kiefer Sutherland may branch out from saving the world into more comedic roles.

The 24 hero said he enjoyed voicing General Monger in new animated flick Monsters Vs Aliens so much that it may prompt him to explore other similar projects.

"It was so much fun for me that I would always welcome the opportunity to branch out and do other things but I think in live action the comedy I would be drawn to would be dark still, but we'll see," he said.

The actor added that he often suffers from self-consciousness, so every project is a learning experience.

"I've been naturally drawn to more dramatic roles, it's something I have felt more comfortable with. The arc actually for me in even animated movies has been a learning one, a giant learning curve," he said.

"To my own detriment I think at times I get self-conscious and you find yourself in a recording studio by yourself with 10 people on the other side of a glass window looking at you."

Kiefer also revealed he relied on his action background to get into the swing when recording the General's voice, saying: "I forgot that I did require physical movement to do some of the voices and this was the first experience where the voice was separate enough from my own that I kind of really let loose with it and I had an absolutely wonderful time, right up until the point that I realised they were filming it, then I got really quiet again."

Monsters vs Aliens opens on April 3.

24 President inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt
TV news & reviews of the hottest shows | TV Talk
By Kevin D. Thompson - Palm Beach Post
February 12, 2009

I spoke with the president today.

No, not Obama. The other one.

Who?

Why, Madame President Allison Taylor, the tough-as-Kevlar leader of the free world on 24.

OK, actually, I was on a conference call this afternoon with Cherry Jones, the Tony-winning actress who could very well earn an Emmy nomination later this year for her fine work on TV’s greatest thrill ride.

Madame president, er, I mean, Jones, chatted for about 25 minutes with a bunch of TV writers and talked about everything from working with Kiefer Sutherland to why her commander-in-chief isn’t a small screen version of Hilary Clinton.

On whether President Taylor will stay flawed:

“I’m as flawed as the next little president. You’ll see I have plenty of flaws, both domestic and international.”

On working with Kiefer Sutherland:

“I had been told by my dear friend (actress) Jayne Atkinson that whenever Kiefer’s on the set, there’s a whole other temperature – it’s part of the reason why he’s kept (24) so taut and intense. He’s completely focused. On that stage, he’s intensity personified.”

On research she did to play a president:

“I always loved reading biographies. I read a lot about Eleanor Roosevelt. I was always fascinated by her. And I thought of (former Israeli Prime Minister) Golda Meir. I threw in a smattering of John Wayne just to get through the scene.”

On what’s like playing a commander-in-chief:

“When I first walked on to the set, there was a kind of deferential treatment simply because I was playing the president. Good actors will defer to someone who has the position of power. Everyone in the cast gives me the power I need.”

On what she knew about 24:

“When I found out I had a meeting (with the producers) I rented the first season and saw two episodes. I fell in love with Jack Bauer. I grew up on a Man From U.N.C.L.E and Mission: Impossible….I have a proclivity for espionage.”

On TV versus theatre:

“On stage, you know the beginning, middle and end. You can create the arc because you know who you are and what you have to accomplish. On 24, I don’t completely know who she is. I just have to take what I’m given in the moment. I’m carving out a character each and every episode. I’m going with the belief that she is someone who really has great moral authority.”

On why she want her president to be older:

“I wanted her to show a life that has been difficult (so you could) see this massive grief on her face. She just lost a grown child and has had no time to mourn that child. She’s emotionally compromised when Day 7 begins. I wanted her to look tired from the top. I didn’t want to look like a Hollywood person playing the president. I wanted her to look like s—t. She’s exhausted.”

On why President Taylor isn’t Hilary Clinton:

“In the first place, she’s battling depression. She’s in an emotionally compromised place. I don’t see Hilary invading Dafour. I just don’t. It’s a very bold move the writers have made. I’m an idealistic person and I love that she’s taken a stand. Whether it’s the wisest thing to do, I don’t know, but I admire her for doing it.”

On if Taylor’s a Republican:

“I’ve been quoted as saying my hair’s Republican. I’m not sure. They jury’s still out.”

On why she wanted her character to be honorable:

“Not that I wouldn’t want to play an evil, wicked bad president. But it was important to me that she be written as a human being.”

Kiefer Sutherland eager for Robin Williams appearance
Metro News Services
February 16, 1009

Kiefer Sutherland is keen to find a role in his hit show 24 for Robin Williams after finding the funnyman is a big fan of the drama, femalefirst.co.uk reports.

Williams recently begged for a part in 24 during a chat with TV Guide magazine, stating, “I would play a technical adviser. Anything,” and Sutherland is thrilled the comic is watching.

He says, “It would be an honour (to have him on the show). You’re talking about an Academy Award-winning actor with no lack of energy, which is what we require.

“Robin could be an innocent computer analyst who stumbles onto something cryptic ... and becomes a target. (My character) Jack Bauer, the government and the bad guys are all looking for this guy, who is scared to death and running for his life.”

Williams has proved himself a master of tense TV dramas — he won acclaim last year as a deranged character on the 200th episode of Law & Order: SVU.

Kiefer Sutherland News - Kiefer Sutherland Is An Obscene Music Fan
Celebuzz
February 21, 2009

With his run as 24's terrorist-thwarting dynamo Jack Bauer winding down, Kiefer Sutherland is apparently finding other activities to occupy his time with. Such as heckling musicians.

The New York Post reports that Sutherland, 42, was taking in a performance by Atlanta-based singer/guitarist Michael Daves at the Rockwood Music Hall in New York's Lower East Side recently when he expressed his admiration in a most boisterous manner.

"You motherf*cker!" Sutherland screamed out from the audience as Daves ran through his set.

Unaware of his opinionated fan's identity, Daves shot back, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Which was met with, "You motherf*cker—you're the man!"

Upon closer inspection, Daves discovered that the bellowing patron was, in fact, the 24 star.

"No, you're the man!" Daves replied.

At which point the two screamed in unison, "We are the men!"

There you have it, aspiring musicians. You now know how to tell if Kiefer Sutherland digs your tunes. Lord only know what he'll scream if he isn't a fan of your music.

Jail For Jack?
TV Guide – 24 Exclusive
By David Hochman
January 5 – 11, 2009

24 Season Premiere: Sunday, January 11 and Monday, January 12 at 8/7c on Fox.

Explosive scoop on Bauer’s trial, the female prez’s family crisis – and the good guy gone bad

Mr. Bauer Goes To Washington

A new city, and old enemy and dirty, deadly politics: Can 24’s antihero save the world again? Yes, he can!

“I feel an enormous responsibility and allegiance to 24,” says Sutherland. “We’ve used the show as a device to create a sense of urgency. It just so happened that it came a time when our country was feeling that urgency as well.”

It’s hard to tell the real feds from the ones playing them on television. Outside a stately Washington, D.C., hotel near the White House, two imposing dudes in FBI sweatshirts share a corner with a man in a suit. Dark shades and telltale earpiece. Across the street, someone is mumbling into a lapel mike alongside a guy whose windbreaker reads “protection services.”

Then there’s the familiar-looking man in a beige coat who can’t stop smiling.

“It goes to show how little I actually know about this government-agent stuff,” Kiefer Sutherland says, when asked who’s an actor and who’s not on the D.C. set of 24. Complicating matters, the real Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, has stopped by to tell everyone, “I love 24!” Sutherland just shakes his head. “This is so surreal,” he says.

After six seasons in Los Angeles and a year and a half off the air, Sutherland arrives in the capital as Jack Bauer with a new look – hmmm, is that London Fog? – and a new sense of purpose: to restore 24 to its rightful place in the most electrifying drama on TV.

“This is a recharge for the show,” Sutherland says. He’s sitting under a white canopy between scenes, toying with pieces on a chessboard. 24 still shoots mainly in L.A., but production spent weeks filming inside the Beltway. “I was disappointed with Season 6 and we didn’t want to see Jack become a cliché of himself, so we shuffled the deck, jumped into new territory. Now we get to see what happens.

In a two-night, four-hour premiere on January 11 and 12, Day 7 dawns with a new female president – Allison Taylor, played by Cherry Jones – and news that CTU has been mothballed amid charges that the antiterrorism unit was sanctioning torture. For his part on that front, Jack is facing tough questions at a Senate subcommittee hearing. “Jack is being asked to account for the conduct of his past by the very government he has protected all these years,” explains executive producer Howard Gordon. “In a way, the show reflects the realities of our times.”

That’s always been the case with 24. The series premiered two short months after 9/11, and the first few seasons rode a wave of American nationalism. “For most of our run, nobody really cared how Jack stopped the terror threat du jour,” says executive producer Jon Cassar, who had directed more than 50 episodes. “The important thing was he stopped it.”

But all the ugly reports out of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo suddenly put Jack and his aggressive interrogation methods on the wrong side of the public opinion. The PR crisis escalated when news broke that 24 was an inspiration in early “brainstorming meetings” among military officials at Guantanamo. Even Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia cited how the show in defending American interrogation policy during a conference in Ottawa. “Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles…He saved hundreds of thousand of lives,” Scalia said. “Are you going to convict Jack Bauer?”

Well, maybe. But we’re hearing that even a Senate subcommittee can’t keep old JB down for long. Ready for a few spoilers? As Sen. Blaine Mayer (Kurtwood Smith from That 70s Show) hammers Jack with questions, along comes FBI agent Renee Walker (Annie Wersching), a by-the-book redhead who “pulls Jack into the field to deal with more pressing matters,” says Wersching, who will become Jack’s partner this season. More pressing? Like what? “Oh, you know,” she laughs. “Just a massive international security breach.”

Turns out it’s even messier than that. The man responsible for the breach (which involves terrorists circumventing air-traffic control with something called a CIP device) is none other than Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), who – wait a minute! – Seemingly died at the end of Season 5. “If nothing else,” Bernard says, “this will stop people from coming up to me on the street and saying, “Hey, I know you’re not dead. When are you coming back?’”

Shooting in Washington was quite a trip for the cast. “I can’t tell you how funny it is to meet people who really do what Jack Bauer does for a living,” Sutherland says. Adds Gordon, “A bunch of the crew toured the new Counterterrorism Center inside the White House, which someone told us was inspired by the look of CTU. When we arrived, the staff stood up and applauded.”

Speaking of the White House, 24’s new president has her hands full this season with a coup spooling out of control in the African nation of Sangala – a drama that began in last fall’s 24: Redemption prequel. There’s also a mole in the Secret Service and rumors afoot that the recent death of the president’s son wasn’t a suicide like everybody thinks. There’s only one man who can get to the bottom of all this, of course, and his name rhymes with Schmack Schmauer.

“No matter how much changes, some things stay the same on this show,” Sutherland says, walking to the set. “I get to wear the same clothes 24 episodes in a row and Jack gets to be the original maverick.”

Fox didn’t intend to wait 18 months between Season 6 and 7. But the writers’ strike last year sidetracked production, and the presidential election stood in the way of airing an uninterrupted season of 24 last fall. “I didn’t know what to do with myself all the time,” says Mary Lynn Rajskub, who plays Chloe O’Brian. “I painted. I watched Mad Men. I made a baby.” (In July, Rajskub gave birth to a son, Valentine).

It’s hard to say how the time gap will impact ratings. Even after a massive marketing blitz, 24’s two-hour prequel movie, which was filmed in South Africa and aired in November, averaged only about 12 million viewers.

“It would be a lie to say I’m not nervous about coming back after such a long break,” Sutherland says. It’s more than a year after the Washington set visit, and Sutherland, back in Los Angeles, is clearly feeling philosophical about a character he’s played for so long. “I still believe in Jack Bauer and I hope America still does,” he says over lunch. “I know it’s only a TV show, but Jack does live within me. I’m endlessly inspired by the character and by his determination to say we can’t stop until we solve whatever problem is at hand.”

But what if the problem is that 24 itself has simply run out of steam? Critics and fans roundly panned Season 6, and even Sutherland says, “We’ve got off point. We were dealing with someone’s love affair in an office” – he’s referring to Chloe’s dalliance with ex-husband Morris in CTU – “instead of dealing with the crisis at hand. As nice as it sounds that people could find time in the midst of a crisis to have an emotional response to someone else, it doesn’t take precedence.

Fear not. Even though CTU has been disbanded, Chloe is still with us and, like Rajskub herself, is now a mom. “She’s learning to balance bottle-feeding with fighting terror,” Rajskub jokes. In fact, Chloe is working outside the government alongside former CTU chief Bill Buchanan (James Morrison). Her big scenes come later in the season as she teams up with Janis Gold, an FBI systems analyst played by comedian Janeane Garofalo in a straight up dramatic role. Garofalo, one of eight new cast members this season, says “Mary Lynn and I have been good friends for many years and the hardest part about this job was not cracking up every time we made eye contact. We are major gigglers, which doesn’t go down well when global security hangs in the balance.”

Sutherland, too, got to hang with an old pal. But before Carlos Bernard could come back to play rogue Tony Almeida, producers had to convince Sutherland that Tony’s story line – which we won’t spoil here – made sense. “Carlos is one of my favorite people on earth,” Sutherland says, “but I said, ‘How in the hell is this going to work?’” As Gordon explains, “We wrote a first draft of a character who was from Jack’s past and had gone off the reservation. Frankly, it was just flat and didn’t feel compelling enough. Once we plugged in ‘Tony Almeida,’ we realized all the elements were there – explanation for his return – and we couldn’t resist.”

Now the question is whether 24 viewers will buy it – along with so many other changes this season. Sutherland is optimistic. “I can’t speak for America, but what’s interesting is that Jack somehow can,” he says. “He represents so much about what makes this country great. He’s determined, he’s great under pressure, and he’s in the pursuit of what he believes in.”

And that’s the kind of new leadership in Washington we can really believe in!

MEET THE NEW CREW WHO’LL KEEP JACK BUSY ON DAY 7:

Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones)

Dossier: 24’s first female president. To keep the nation safe, must juggle domestic-security crisis with global threat from fictional Sangala.

Trademark: Executive branch helmet hair

Jack or Wack? Jack. She holds his feet to the fire over torture methods, but ultimately can’t live without them.

Henry Taylor (Colm Feore)

Dossier: First Gentleman. Trusting and supportive of President Taylor, but suspects their son’s death wasn’t suicide.

Trademark: Frequently asked: “Hey what are you doing here?”

Jack or Wack? Slightly whack. Tunnel vision on dead son proves distracting

Janis Gold (Janeane Garofalo)

Dossier: FBI systems analyst. Provides computer analysis for every imaginable crisis. Mid-season run-ins with Chloe should make for hot geek-on-geek action.

Trademark: Red star tattoo on knuckle

Jack or Wack? Jack. She’s the go-to Google girl.

Jonas Hodges (Jon Voight)

Dossier: Ubervillian introduced in November’s Redemption prequel. Ex-corporate titan now funding coup in Juma in Sangala. Not seen much in first eight episodes, but a major menace nevertheless.

Trademark: Wins 24’s best-dressed villain award.

Jack or Wack? Major wack!

Larry Moss (Jeffrey Nording)

Dossier: By-the-book head of the FBI. Tasks his staff to fight terror without ice baths and waterboarding. In everybody’s business.

Trademark: Wound tighter than a Marine Corps drum.

Jack or Wack? Mostly wack. He doesn’t really trust Jack.

Sean Hillinger (Rhys Coiro)

Dossier: FBI tactician. His personal stake in the domestic crisis compromising the nation’s air-traffic controllers, because wife is currently on an airplane.

Trademark: Better coiffed than President Taylor.

Jack or Wack? Jack. Who else could save is honey bunny?

Ethan Kanin (Bob Gunton)

Dossier: Uptight White House chief of staff. Bearer of bad news and worse news. Stay on his good side to get the right information at the right time. FBI’s link to the president.

Trademark: Always keeping the First Gentleman in check.

Jack or Wack? Has Jack’s back.

Renee Walker (Annie Wersching)

Dossier: FBI agent forced to work in the field with Jack. Loves protocol, but digs JB’s unorthodox methods. Romance in the future? She’s definitely packing heat.

Trademark: Says “please,” “thank you” and “is that thing loaded?”

Jack or Wack?

Jack all the way.

HE KEEPS ON TICKING!

Carlos Bernard is back as Tony Almeida. Is it a miracle or just another twisted ploy to get 24 fans hooked?

When you left 24 in Season 5, did you know you weren’t really leaving?

Hard-core fans know that the ticking clock was never shown, which is the official sign that somebody’s dead on 24. But to be honest, I never knew from season to season if I was coming back.

What’s it like being on the show again?

So great. I was on for five years, which is a lifetime for me. We fell back into the shorthand of the show.

Except that now Tony’s a bad guy.

We needed a good story. Bringing Tony back could easily have come off gimmicky, so we had to explain ourselves and also did some depth to his character. He’s darker, sadder, and disappointed in himself.

Do he and Jack get to party together?

They definitely have some trust issues, at least from Jack’s side. At first, Jack can’t figure out why this guy who ‘died’ in his arms is back. But they get into it and Jack discovers the truth. I don’t want to give away too much.

What’s your all-time favorite fan moment?

Being a huge Cubs fan, my favorite was throwing out the first pitch at Wrigley Field and singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.” The weirdest was being at a baseball game in Anaheim and standing at the urinal when somebody started whispering in my ear. This was around the time Tony’s girlfriend Michelle Dressler, was having all sorts of drama on the show. Anyway, this guy is whispering in my ear – while I’m taking a whiz! – “Tell me she doesn’t die.” Dude! Is there no sacred place in the world anymore?

24 relocates to D.C. for show's seventh season
By Matt Hurwitz
Associated Press
January 7, 2009

Early one cold November morning, actress Annie Wersching leads Kiefer Sutherland to an "armoured" SUV with dark windows parked outside the U.S. Department of Agriculture building.

After director Brad Turner yells "Cut," onlookers snap photos of the star. Sutherland spots a participant in a charity run for Lupus on the Washington Mall and comments, "Why is that guy wearing shorts? It's cold."

Where Sutherland normally works, people wear shorts year round. Welcome to Washington, Jack Bauer.

A little over a year ago, Sutherland and the crew of his popular Fox TV series, "24," came to the nation's capital to film segments of the show's seventh season. The completion of that season was delayed a year by the Writers Guild strike, but it finally makes its debut in a two-night premiere beginning Sunday, Jan. 11 (8 p.m. EST).

Jack Bauer actually returned to the screen this past November in the Fox TV movie "24: Redemption," a series prequel that was set in Africa. Now, the series' new season begins with the intrepid agent for the fictional federal Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU) forced to return to Washington to face a Senate investigation into his conduct.

"He's called to face charges of abuse of power and torturing certain individuals in an unlawful manner," Sutherland says. "For the first time, he's put in a position to have to confront a lot of the things that he's done."

However, Bauer is pulled from the hearings by FBI agent Renee Walker (Wersching) to help with a more pressing matter - the reappearance of Bauer's thought-to-be-dead fellow agent, Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), who is apparently is no longer one of the good guys.

After six years of making "24" mainly in Los Angeles, the production thought it was finally time to take the show to the home of oft-seen presidents in the series. "We wondered if that was starting to bother people," laughs director Turner.

While filming in Washington isn't new for fed-themed action series, it was a welcome change for the "24" team. "It was kind of like going on a field trip," Bernard says.

Shooting here lends the show a sense of realism impossible to produce by simply intercutting stock "plate" shots of Washington with scenes shot in Hollywood. "To have the Washington Monument in the background of a drive-up, and in a simple, incidental way, just tells you you're in Washington," explains cinematographer Rodney Charters. "That's a pretty hard thing to fake."

Turner and his crew searched the season's early scripts for opportunities to make use of recognizable Washington locales. "It was a matter of finding moments to get scenes on the street, and do it naturally so that it's seamless," the director says. Adds Sutherland, "If you can take advantage of getting iconic places like the Capitol or the Lincoln Memorial in a shot, you try and do that. It's like a postcard for us."

Yet doing so isn't a simple matter of setting up a camera and taking pictures, particularly in a security-sensitive city such as Washington. "There are 17 different jurisdictions to deal with, some with their own police forces," says Jon Pare, the show's production manager. "Sometimes, when you leave a curb and step into a street, you've just crossed a jurisdiction."

But an OK from the District of Columbia to film on a sidewalk and one from the National Park Service for the grass beyond may still not be enough.

"There's one place I can think of specifically where the sidewalk is divided into three different jurisdictions," says local location manager John Latenser. Simply put, "Washington, D.C. is the most difficult city in the United States to film in."

But for the actors, it's worth all the trouble. "You're constantly aware you're in a capital city," says Sutherland. "You can feel the power of it, the sense of responsibility that's in the air all the time. Somehow it felt like more was at stake."

Even a visit to the Capital Grille, a stylish restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue, left an impression on the actor. "Three tables over, there were three men that were talking about something that was going to have an impact on our lives," he says.

Among the many loyal fans of "24" is Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, whose office said he was thrilled to see Sutherland's acting and stunts in person when he visited the set the following day.

"He's a fan of the show and checked out what we were doing. He's always been really gracious and kind with us," Sutherland says. The crew even visited the real CTU - the National Counterterrorism Center - while in Washington.

Meanwhile, fans greet Sutherland as he arrives in the tiny Georgetown section of Washington to film a scene at a house once occupied by John F. Kennedy.

"I'm just waiting for (Sutherland) to break into Jack Bauer mode and start neck-punching people," says bystander Kim Sandlin. "I'm looking forward to having Jack Bauer's blood on our sidewalk!"

On the Net:

http://www.fox.com/24

Golden Globe Nomination:

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Ralph Fiennes – Bernard and Doris; Paul Giamatti – John Adams; Kevin Spacey – Recount; Kiefer Sutherland – 24: Redemption; Tom Wilkinson – Recount

SAG Nomination:

PRIMETIME TELEVISION:

Male actor in a TV movie or miniseries

Ralph Fiennes, "Bernard and Doris"
Paul Giamatti, "John Adams"
Kevin Spacey, "Recount"
Kiefer Sutherland, "24: Redemption"
Tom Wilkinson, "John Adams"

Photo below on the right: Kiefer Sutherland, one of the stars of the Fox thriller "24," arrives for the network's upfront presentation in New York on May 18, 2006. (Photo: AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh)