10 Big Time Actors Who Are Way Better On TV
3. Kiefer Sutherland
Son of the immense Donald Sutherland, Kiefer was a badass for hire in a string of Hollywood movies of yesteryear. Some of them were pretty good, but his career petered out with a whisper and a fart. Then along came a certain TV show.
On The Big Screen:
Sutherland Jr played Ace Merrill in Stand By Me, the nostalgic film of boyhood friendship. He was a bully, he was mad and he was awesome. In the brilliantly trashy The Lost Boys, he was excellent as David, the lead vampire in a hellish biker gang in small town California. Basically, Sutherland plays leader of the gang really well.
In Your Living Room:
His old film career aside, nothing comes close to his role in 24: anchored by great action and exciting plots, Sutherland sizzles as the heroic Jack Bauer. His character is at once world-weary and alert, calm but capable of explosive actions. In a concept drama where each episode takes place over the space of 24 hours, the tension needs to be amped up constantly, and the show relies heavily on Kiefer Sutherland.
It's no mean feat to effectively carry a show on your shoulders, and, simply, he does.
Best TV Moment:
Jack grapples with a baddie in a stadium, and out of nowhere, runs up the side of a wall, jumps round the man and snaps his neck. Awesome.