Kiefer Sutherland Age and a Career Built on Jack Bauer

Kiefer Sutherland was born on December 21, 1966, so he is 59 as of 2026 and turns 60 in December. The actor is best known as counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer on 24, a role that reshaped television drama in the 2000s.

Quick facts

Family and upbringing

Sutherland is the son of the actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, and the grandson of Canadian politician Tommy Douglas, often called the father of Canadian public health care. Born in London, he grew up mostly in Canada and moved to Los Angeles as a young man to pursue acting. His unusual first name reportedly comes from the director Warren Kiefer, a friend of his father. Having a famous father could have been a shortcut, but Sutherland has often said he wanted to make his own way.

The 1980s and early 1990s

His first major film part came in The Bay Boy in 1984, and he was soon working with major directors. He starred in Stand by Me in 1986, playing the menacing Ace Merrill, then played vampire leader David in The Lost Boys in 1987, a film that has become a staple of 1980s cult cinema. He co-starred in Young Guns the following year, a western that put several young stars in the same saddle. Flatliners in 1990 and A Few Good Men in 1992, in which he appeared alongside Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson, consolidated a reputation as a magnetic young actor in ensemble casts. He also played Athos in a 1993 version of The Three Musketeers.

24 changes everything

In 2001 Fox premiered 24, a real-time thriller in which each season covered a single day, with a ticking clock on screen. Sutherland played Jack Bauer and also served as an executive producer. The role won him an Emmy for lead actor in a drama series, and the show ran for eight seasons, with a later revival, 24: Live Another Day, in 2014. The format was a novelty in its day: split screens, a pulsing digital clock and cliffhangers every hour. It made Jack Bauer a pop-culture shorthand for a hero who would do anything to stop a threat.

Later work

He then headlined Designated Survivor as Tom Kirkman, a low-level cabinet member who becomes president after an attack on the Capitol, initially for ABC and later Netflix. Earlier he starred in the supernatural drama Touch. He has voiced Snake in the Metal Gear Solid games and starred in the spy series Rabbit Hole in 2023. His film work also includes Phone Booth, in which he voiced the unseen caller, and Dark City.

Music

Sutherland is also a country and rock musician, releasing the album Down in a Hole in 2016 and touring with his band. He co-founded the record label Ironworks Music, and he often plays small venues where he can talk with the audience, rather than big arenas. His songwriting leans towards rootsy rock with a lot of storytelling.

Personal life

Sutherland keeps his private life largely out of interviews and prefers to talk about work and music. He has spoken warmly about his father’s influence and about the acting dynasty he grew up in. He’s also known for his love of ranch life and cattle roping, which has shown up in interviews over the years.

What fans ask

The question that dominates searches is whether Kiefer is older or younger than his famous co-stars, and the answer is that he sits comfortably among the generation of actors who rose in the 1980s alongside Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. People also ask whether he’s related to Donald Sutherland (yes, father) and whether Jack Bauer will return. The franchise has produced a revival and spin-offs over the years, but this article doesn’t speculate about any new production.

Frequently asked questions