When Kiefer Sutherland was a teenager, his father, the actor Donald Sutherland, took him to see his close friend, David Bowie, in concert. The younger Sutherland remembers wearing black eyeliner to the gig in an attempt to mimic his idol, and after the set, Donald took him backstage to meet Bowie.
Sutherland says he didnt know just how close Bowie and his dad were when they showed up at the rockers dressing room. He opened the door as we knocked on it, and he looked at me for a long second, and then he looked way up at my father sand said, Oh, you brought your family. Why? Sutherland recalls in the latest installment of Rolling Stones The First Time. I think they had expected to go out and have a very nice night, and so I realized at that moment that my father was giving up a really nice night out with his friend David Bowie so that I could go see him. So, thank you, dad.
The First Time: Kevin SmithThe First Time: Damian LillardComing of Age: Millennials' Most Earth-Shaking Sexual MomentsThurston Moore: 5 Songs That Influenced Me Early On
Elsewhere, Sutherland recalls acting with his father for the first time in the 2015 Western, Forsaken, as well as asserting his new Canadian bona fides by buying Rushs Hemispheres after moving to the country with his family. He also talks about discovering the similarities between Jack Bauer, the seminal hero from 24, and Tom Kirkman, the character he plays on Designated Survivor, which returns for its third season tomorrow, June 7th.
Their skill sets were very different, Sutherland says, but at the root of the telling both of those stories, they were guys that were being put into impossible situations that they could not win. It was just a question of how much damage would be done. So once I realized that, I found that actually quite comforting as an actor. One guy was a much more physical character and the other guy used his brains and words, but the dynamics were very similar so I tried to lean into that when playing them.
Sutherland also chats about falling in love with country music and his own music career, including the geographical constraints he put on his band when they first started performing live, and the sneaky thrill of playing his own material.
We had to play 50 miles outside of Los Angeles because I didnt want to run into any friends, Sutherland says. One of the most exciting things about playing your own song, especially because no ones heard it, is that if you screw it up, no one will know.