Kiefer Sutherland has spent four decades playing men who carry the weight of the world, yet his own life has often been the more complicated story. He is the son of two actors and the grandson of a Canadian political legend, and he found stardom as Jack Bauer in 24 — but he has also served jail time, survived vocal cord surgery, and watched a famous engagement unravel in public.

Best known role: Jack Bauer in 24 · Awards: Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe · Parents: Shirley Douglas and Donald Sutherland · Legal incidents: DUI and assault charges · Height: 5’9" (1.75 m)

Born

December 21, 1966, in London (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Known for

Jack Bauer in 24

Awards

Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe (Wikipedia)

Legal incidents

DUI and assault charges; sentenced to 48 days in jail after a 2007 DUI (Radio Times); January 2026 arrest remains unresolved.

Sutherland’s legal history in the public record spans roughly two decades and falls into two categories: alcohol-related driving offenses and physical altercations.

  • In 2007, he was arrested for DUI and sentenced to 48 days in jail in California (Radio Times).
  • The same Radio Times interview counts four drink-driving charges across his career.

The British broadsheet The Telegraph reported that the January 2026 arrest came in Hollywood.

He issued public apologies for the legal incidents, and those apologies became as much a part of the story as the arrests themselves.

The paradox

The actor best known for playing a counter-terrorism agent who never makes mistakes has four drink-driving charges on his record — and he has said plainly that alcohol caused most of the negative turns in his life (i newspaper).

Bottom line: Four drink-driving charges, a 2007 jail sentence, a 2009 assault charge, and a 2026 arrest still unresolved.

The health episode most people remember happened in 2017, when Sutherland reportedly underwent vocal cord surgery (Wikipedia).

  • Vocal cord surgery in 2017.

Bottom line: The 2017 vocal cord surgery cost him his voice temporarily, and he rebuilt his career from that pause.

Kiefer is one of Donald Sutherland’s five children, and the family tree runs deep: his mother, Shirley Douglas, was also an actor, and her father, Tommy Douglas, was a Canadian politician.

  • Kiefer’s parents split in 1971, and he moved to Canada with his mother and twin sister (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
  • According to his IMDb biography, his parents had moved to California shortly after his birth.

The reference publisher Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that after the divorce Kiefer also left school at 15 to pursue acting.

For another story of a son from a Hollywood family building his own identity, see Wyatt Russell: Hockey Player Turned Actor.

Sutherland’s career splits into two clear halves: the film work of the 1980s and 1990s, and the television stardom that began with 24.

  • 24 (2001–2010, 2014) — Jack Bauer made him a household name and won him a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe (Wikipedia).
  • Rabbit Hole (2023) — a conspiracy thriller that played directly to his 24-era strengths (Radio Times).
  • Max Dugan Returns (1983) — his big-screen debut, alongside his father (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

Before any of that, he was already on a path: his Apple TV biography notes he began acting at age.

Bottom line: 24 is the definitive role, but the film run of 1986–1987 and the later network and streaming leads show a career that never stopped moving.

  • 1966 — Born in London to Shirley Douglas and Donald Sutherland (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
  • 2001–2010 — Stars as Jack Bauer in 24; wins a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe.
  • 2007 — Arrested for DUI and sentenced to 48 days in jail (Radio Times).
  • 2017 — Vocal cord surgery (Wikipedia).

There are unresolved questions around his family’s story, including:

  • Whether his mother, Shirley Douglas, was set up by the FBI in the Black Panthers weapons case, as she maintained (NNDB).
  • Whether the family was specifically targeted because of Donald Sutherland’s fame and left-leaning politics, as one profile suggests (Woman’s World).

The pattern: when a story has no official ending, the public writes its own — and this one has run for three decades on that missing explanation.

Interviewers have found him unguarded about his legal history and his drinking (i newspaper).

“And I didn’t stop.”

— Kiefer Sutherland, in an interview with i newspaper

Sutherland’s career has survived what would have sunk many actors: a jail sentence, an assault charge, a health scare, and a wedding cancellation that played out in headlines around the world.

He has been married three times, and two of those marriages ended in divorce.

After 24, he led Designated Survivor (2018–2019), and he continues to take on screen work alongside his music career.

He has released two studio albums to date: Reckless & Me and the Grey Album (The Telegraph).