Zel
12-10-01, 12:39 PM
"Starting out at fifteen in the movie business these days may seem a little old - Anna Paquin was just eleven when she turned in an Oscar-winning performance in The Piano - but in 1983 Kiefer Sutherland was intent on doing just that. With mother Shirley Douglas, a staple in Canadian acting cirlcles and father Donald Sutherland, it's amazing he could hold out until the ripe old age of fifteen. A little help from dad got Kiefer a small walk-on part in Max Dugan Returns in 1983. This started the ball rolling and encouraged him to pursue acting through workshops and the like. In 1984 he landed his first lead in the Bay Boy opposite Liv Ullman. A critical success Kiefer began the trek to stardom starting in New York. His move signalled to his family the seriousness surrounding his future in moviemaking. Of course him dropping out of high school should probably have been the first real indication.
Pursuing the craft in America involves making decisions. Kiefer, from the beginning, knew that standard daytime television and commercials weren't the career choices for him. After about a year of being unemployed Kiefer moved to that other showbiz town LA. A part in a Steven Spielberg TV series, (Amazing Stories, 1986) caught the attention of Rob Reiner. His casting in Stand By Me (1986), to play Ace Merrill, a gang leader, was the break he was looking for.
In 1987 Kiefer began his ascent into the big budget picture. The Lost Boys was a vampire thriller in small town anywhere that got his face out there and recognised by moviegoers and opened up the possibility of Kiefer holding a talent for playing a large range of characters. Like father like son? Perhaps but Kiefer wasn't looking for the next M*A*S*H. He was intent on finding his own path. He did this by working almost non-stop. He had five movies out in 1990 including Flatliners and the sequel to Young Guns.
In 1992 Kiefer fell away from the leading role a little and played a very convincing officer in A Few Good Men.. His performance was sparked with intensity and contempt. Playing opposite such actors as Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise, Kiefer held his own and appeared perfectly cast. His performance opened a whole new door to his acting talents and abilities. He found the satisfaction of small supporting parts both challenging and rewarding. More ensemble work in the form of Article 99 (92), The Three Musketeers (1993), and A Time to Kill (1996) followed.
Having been in the business since 1983 it seems Kiefer is ready to challenge himself a little more. A turn onstage with his mother in Tennesse Williams' The Glass Menagerie was a critical success back home in Canada. He has said that Menagerie was one of his hardest roles to date because of the intensity but that he loved every minute of it.
His next challenge came in the role of director. Truth or Consequences N.M.(1997), was Kiefer's first exploration into the other side of the camera and was so appealing to him that he did it again in A Soldier's Sweetheart (1998). Sweetheart was premiered at the Toronto Film Festival to positive reviews.
Kiefer has three movies waiting for release in 1999 Woman Wanted, The Royal Way, and The Red Door.
He has signed on to play beat novelist William Burroughs opposite Courtney Love in the film tentatively titled Beat.. The movie is about the real life love affair of Burroughs wife with Lucien Carr. It was scheduled to begin filming in Mexico City in August of 1999.
Kiefer Sutherland lives in LA with his wife Kelly Winn, also a Canadian."
written by Siobhan Rossiter
Films:
Max Dugan Returns (1983) The Bay Boy (84) Trapped in Silence (TV-86) Stand By Me (86) Crazy Moon (86) Brotherhood of Justice (TV-86) At Close Range (86) The Lost Boys (87) The Killing Time (87) Young Guns (88) Promised Land (88)1969 (88) Bright Lights, Big City (88) Renegades (89) The Nutcracker Prince (voice, 90) Flashback (90) Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (90) Flatliners (90) Your Guns II (90) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (92) Article 99 (92) A Few Good Men (92) The Vanishing (93) Last Light (TV-93) The Three Musketeers (93) The Cowboy Way (94) Duke of Groove (95) The Last Days of Frankie the Fly (96) Eye For An Eye (96) A Time to Kill (96) Freeway (96) Truth or Consequences, N.M. (97) A Soldier's Sweetheart (98) Dark City (98) The Break Up (98) Ground Control (98) Woman Wanted (99) Picking up the Pieces (99) Hearts and Bones (99) After Alice (99) To End All Wars (2000) The Royal Way (2000) The Right Temptation (2000) Desert Saints (2000) Beat (2000) Picking Up the Pieces (2000) Ring of Fire (2001) The Red Door (2001) Paradise Found (2001) I Fought the Law (2001)
TV Series: 24 (2001)
Pursuing the craft in America involves making decisions. Kiefer, from the beginning, knew that standard daytime television and commercials weren't the career choices for him. After about a year of being unemployed Kiefer moved to that other showbiz town LA. A part in a Steven Spielberg TV series, (Amazing Stories, 1986) caught the attention of Rob Reiner. His casting in Stand By Me (1986), to play Ace Merrill, a gang leader, was the break he was looking for.
In 1987 Kiefer began his ascent into the big budget picture. The Lost Boys was a vampire thriller in small town anywhere that got his face out there and recognised by moviegoers and opened up the possibility of Kiefer holding a talent for playing a large range of characters. Like father like son? Perhaps but Kiefer wasn't looking for the next M*A*S*H. He was intent on finding his own path. He did this by working almost non-stop. He had five movies out in 1990 including Flatliners and the sequel to Young Guns.
In 1992 Kiefer fell away from the leading role a little and played a very convincing officer in A Few Good Men.. His performance was sparked with intensity and contempt. Playing opposite such actors as Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise, Kiefer held his own and appeared perfectly cast. His performance opened a whole new door to his acting talents and abilities. He found the satisfaction of small supporting parts both challenging and rewarding. More ensemble work in the form of Article 99 (92), The Three Musketeers (1993), and A Time to Kill (1996) followed.
Having been in the business since 1983 it seems Kiefer is ready to challenge himself a little more. A turn onstage with his mother in Tennesse Williams' The Glass Menagerie was a critical success back home in Canada. He has said that Menagerie was one of his hardest roles to date because of the intensity but that he loved every minute of it.
His next challenge came in the role of director. Truth or Consequences N.M.(1997), was Kiefer's first exploration into the other side of the camera and was so appealing to him that he did it again in A Soldier's Sweetheart (1998). Sweetheart was premiered at the Toronto Film Festival to positive reviews.
Kiefer has three movies waiting for release in 1999 Woman Wanted, The Royal Way, and The Red Door.
He has signed on to play beat novelist William Burroughs opposite Courtney Love in the film tentatively titled Beat.. The movie is about the real life love affair of Burroughs wife with Lucien Carr. It was scheduled to begin filming in Mexico City in August of 1999.
Kiefer Sutherland lives in LA with his wife Kelly Winn, also a Canadian."
written by Siobhan Rossiter
Films:
Max Dugan Returns (1983) The Bay Boy (84) Trapped in Silence (TV-86) Stand By Me (86) Crazy Moon (86) Brotherhood of Justice (TV-86) At Close Range (86) The Lost Boys (87) The Killing Time (87) Young Guns (88) Promised Land (88)1969 (88) Bright Lights, Big City (88) Renegades (89) The Nutcracker Prince (voice, 90) Flashback (90) Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (90) Flatliners (90) Your Guns II (90) Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (92) Article 99 (92) A Few Good Men (92) The Vanishing (93) Last Light (TV-93) The Three Musketeers (93) The Cowboy Way (94) Duke of Groove (95) The Last Days of Frankie the Fly (96) Eye For An Eye (96) A Time to Kill (96) Freeway (96) Truth or Consequences, N.M. (97) A Soldier's Sweetheart (98) Dark City (98) The Break Up (98) Ground Control (98) Woman Wanted (99) Picking up the Pieces (99) Hearts and Bones (99) After Alice (99) To End All Wars (2000) The Royal Way (2000) The Right Temptation (2000) Desert Saints (2000) Beat (2000) Picking Up the Pieces (2000) Ring of Fire (2001) The Red Door (2001) Paradise Found (2001) I Fought the Law (2001)
TV Series: 24 (2001)