Donald Sutherland Rejected 24 Role To Avoid Playing Jack Bauer's Villainous Father
Because he didn't want to play a father trying to kill his son, Donald Sutherland was rejected from 24.Alongside his son Kiefer, Donald Sutherland gave up a significant role in 24, but he did so for the most heartfelt reasons. In spite of the fact that he (somehow) never had an Academy Award nomination, Donald Sutherland was regarded as one of the greatest actors of his time and passed away in July 2024 at the age of 88. Sutherland had an absolutely mouthwatering run of hit films in the 1970s, starring in Robert Altman's MASH, Don't Look Now, Klute, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), and more.In the decades that followed, Sutherland was cast in a ton of amazing roles, including his terrifying portrayal of President Snow in the Hunger Games film series and his amazing cameo as a pyromaniac in Backdraft. Numerous of Sutherland's offspring, such as Angus, Rossif, and Kiefer, pursued careers in entertainment. The latter, who gained notoriety for himself on 24 as the tense counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer, is best known for his own role. In nine seasons, a TV movie, and even a PlayStation 2 video game, Sutherland portrayed Jack.Like many long-running series, 24 was incredibly popular in its peak, but in subsequent years, its quality declined. 24 Season 6 Introduced Jack's Evil Father. Regarding a ranking of all 24 seasons, the sixth series is sometimes mentioned as the least strong. This is where it started doing things that previous series had mostly avoided: it started to openly recycle plots and focus on Jack's family. In season six of 24, Jack's father, Phillip Bauer, was introduced. It is later revealed that he is a villain who collaborated with the terrorists responsible for that day's atrocities.Donald was in mind when the role of Phillip was written, and in a 2006 BBC interview, the actor remembers talking to Kiefer about it. Having rejected 24 years before, Donald didn't want his first interaction with his son to feel like a father attempting to murder him. He mentioned being inspired by a certain Steven Spielberg movie and wanted their first collaboration to be lighter.Sutherland Tried To Cast Kiefer As Jack Bauer's REAL Father, But His Pitch FailedDonald was thrilled to collaborate with Kiefer even though he turned down the role of Phillip Bauer for an unexpectedly pleasant reason. He remembered proposing a plot twist for the season finale that would have completely rewritten the narrative after he discovered Phillip was a villain. Regretfully, it appears that the showrunners of 24 never really gave it any thought.Actually, this late-afternoon surprise would have made an already chaotic season much more difficult. Most of the people introduced in that series never make a reappearance, and 24 Season 6 concludes with Phillip dead and the Bauer clan tragedy resolved. Donald's intriguing proposal to play Jack's real (and perhaps more heroic) father was rejected, but it did reflect certain ending surprises. In the closing minutes of season 6, producers considered bringing back two purportedly deceased characters to confront Jack. Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), Jack's closest friend, and Christopher Henderson (Peter Weller) would have been the first.Donald and Kiefer Sutherland teamed up to make three films, but they only shared scenes in one.Prior to the 24 offer, Donald and Kiefer Sutherland had appeared in two films: A Time to Kill (1996) and Max Dugan Returns (1983). But there were no scenes in either production where the father and son were together. In the 2015 film Forsaken, directed by Kiefer, who plays a gunfighter who is separated from his Reverend father, the two actors shared the screen for the first and only time. Directed by one of the show's long-serving directors, Jon Cassar, and costarring Michael Wincott from Live Another Day, the film itself was akin to a reunion of 24.Overall, Forsaken received mixed reviews, although its best moments were those involving the father and son. Sutherland ultimately made the right decision by passing on 24, even though it would have been fantastic to have him work with Kiefer. They both deserved better material. Forsaken, with all its shortcomings, was a better recipient of the Sutherland's abilities.