Post by Taxigirl on Oct 19, 2003 10:11:48 GMT
Perhaps the most definitive descriptor for Kiefer Sutherland's career is not any particular niche he's carved for himself, but rather his versatility. In a career that spans 20 years, Sutherland has covered abundant ground, he has established his individuality as an actor, bringing to the screen a distinctive voice and a keen edged presence. He's one of those actors we feel close to because we have watched them grow.... We've been with him through his initial success in films like The Lost Boys and Stand By Me, through the first loves, the heartbreaks, the hardships and all the rest.
On January 21, 1967, Kiefer Sutherland and his twin sister, Rachel, were born 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)
After moving back to LA, Kiefer appeared in a series of hits in the late ’80s. With his bad boy grin and unkempt charisma, he was a perfect fit for rough-edged roles like the gang leader in Stand By Me, the head vampire in The Lost Boys, and as "Doc" in Young Guns.
In 1988, at age 20, 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, now 15, and I'm very fortunate that Camelia and I have ended up remaining friends."
In 1990, Sutherland starred in the hit Flatliners where he met Julia Roberts. The two were involved in a very high profile relationship and were engaged to be married in the summer of '91, but the wedding was abruptly called off three days before the wedding. He was scorched by the tabloid frenzy, and at the same time, he was thrown for a loop professionally. "I wasn't prepared when the work came to an abrupt stop. I had a chip on my shoulder, and it was getting pretty heavy."
After making A Few Good Men (1992) and The Three Musketeers (1993) Sutherland temporarily left Hollywood and spent the better part of the ’90s honing his rodeo skills on a 900-acre ranch in Montana. He also bought the horses he rode in Young Guns and Young Guns II. “My love for horses began with those movies, but during The Three Musketeers I really learned to ride. I needed to take time off, I was doing awful films and I just needed to stop. It's a terrible thing to get into: 'Well, you need the money, your kids have to go to school' - you start justifying it. I was doing really shitty work, which I only blame myself for, and I needed to stop and figure out what i was doing with my life."
In 1993, Kiefer made his directorial debut with the made-for-television drama Last Light, in which he also starred as a prison inmate on death row. The film was very well received and earned several Cable Ace nominations.
