Keifer Sutherland

Keifer Sutherland (born Keifer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland, 21.12.1966)

Keifer Sutherland is a British born, Canadian actor, best known for his role in the FOX TV series 24.

Keifer Sutherland: Childhood

Keifer Sutherland's parents are Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas - both well-respected actors. His grandfather is the Canadian politician Tommy Douglas and Keifer also has Scottish heritage. Keifer and his twin sister, Rachel were born in London, hence he has dual nationality.

Keifer's parents divorced in 1972 and he moved to Toronto with his mother, where he attended a number of different schools and colleges, as well as attending acting lessons at Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School on weekends.

When he first moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career, he was roommates with Robert Downey Jr.

Keifer Sutherland: Acting Career

In 1986, Keifer appeared in his first film, the cult classic Stand By Me, in which he played John 'Ace' Merrill. The film also starred the late River Phoenix, as well as Corey Feldman and Wil Wheaton.

His next big hit came with the release of The Lost Boys in 1987. This film has also become a cult favourite and stars Jason Patric, Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. The soundtrack to the film also became a hit, featuring the likes of The Doors and Echo and the Bunnymen.

Sutherland also starred in Young Guns and Young Guns II with Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen and Lou Diamond Phillips.

1990 saw Sutherland starring in the hugely popular Flatliners, directed by Joel Schumacher and co-starring Julia Roberts and Kevin Bacon. This was followed, in 1992, by an appearance in the David Lynch film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, with David Bowie and Kyle MacLachlan. Later that year, he featured in a very different film, A Few Good Men, starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson.

Following the release of the thriller The Vanishing in 1993 (starring Jeff Bridges and Nancy Travis), Sutherland's career took something of a downturn. Few of his film appearances attracted much attention, or acclaim, bar his performance in 1996's A Time To Kill - a John Grisham adaptation starring Sandra Bullock, Samuel L Jackson and Matthew McConaughey.

In 2001, however, Keifer Sutherland made an impressive comeback when he was cast as the lead character, Jack Bauer, in the FOX television series 24. His performance in the series has earned him the 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series' award at the Primetime Emmy Awards. It has been reported that he is now the highest-earning TV actor, raking in a reported $40 million for three seasons of the show. In March 2009, Keifer Sutherland announced that he would be returning for an 8th season of 24.

Keifer Sutherland: Personal Life

Keifer Sutherland was married to Camelia Kath between 1987 and 1990 and they have a daughter together, Sarah Jude, born in 1988.

In 1990, he announced his engagement to Julia Roberts. A lavish wedding was prepared, but Roberts broke off the engagement three days before the wedding, when she found out that Sutherland had been secretly meeting a stripper, Amanda Rice.

In 1996, Sutherland married Kelly Winn. They separated in 1996 and divorced in 2004.

In 2007, Keifer Sutherland was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was sentenced to 48 days in jail. In 2009, he gave himself up the police after head-butting a fashion designer, Jack McCollough at a party. The charges against him have since been dropped.