Kiefer Sutherland claims he "taught himself a lesson" when he went to jail.

The '24' actor - who was thrown out of a strip club on Thursday (15.04.10) morning because of his drunken antics - insists his 48-day prison term for drink-driving in 2007 made him realise how much he could have damaged his career.

He told UK TV talk show host Jonathan Ross: "I made a really stupid mistake, I put a lot of things in jeopardy

"It was awful, I was in solitary for a long time, it's not a place you want to be.

"I was so cross with myself, it was my way of teaching myself a lesson."

The 43-year-old star's fresh-faced, smartly-dressed appearance when he filmed the show came less than 12 hours after he was put in a headlock and thrown out of strip club Stringfellows shirtless after allegedly "kicking off" during an evening of drinking with friends.

Discussing his alcohol-fuelled behaviour, a source said: "He went bananas, shouting nonsense and dancing before kicking off when asked to leave."

This is not the first time Kiefer has caused trouble after a night of drinking.

In May last year he surrendered himself to police after head-butting fashion designer Jack Mccollough following a celebrity charity evening.

In 2005 he was famously pictured drunk in a bar with his trousers round his ankles.