It seemsKiefer Sutherland has always been typecast as a villain. FromEye for an Eye, arole that terrified parents of small children, toPhone Booth, he’s had a lot of opportunities to show his range. Then, he got cast as one of TV’s most iconic characters ever, Jack Bauer, becoming the lead of the hit series24for nearly ten years.24changed the public’s perception of Sutherland, and later, he starred in shows likeDesignated SurvivorandRabbit Hole.
This Canadian actor is a triple threat- he also sings and performs with his band across the US (and even globally), and he had a short run on Broadway in 2011 in the playThe Championship Season. Hisperformance was well-received by critics, with many emphasizing how nice it was to see Sutherland “show a vulnerable side.” Whether his best work was being the villain or not, it’s hard to deny he has an entertaining and captivating filmography. Kiefer Sutherland’s ten best movies show where he shone the most on the silver screen.
10’They Cloned Tyrone' (2023)
Character: Nixon
Amid theBarbieandOppenheimer(fondly known asBarbenheimer) premiere hype,it was tough to notice anything else happeningin terms of movie premieres. But, on July 21st,NetflixreleasedThey Cloned Tyrone, the same week as the two aforementioned movies. It could be that, because of this, the film went (unfairly) under the radar. Before anyone goes off, this isn’t due to the movie’s quality, because, although it brandishes some plot holes,They Cloned Tyroneis one of the best movies of 2023.
John Boyega,Jamie Foxx, andTeyonah Parrisstar as an unlikely trio that uncovers adeeper conspiracy happening right below their neighborhood. It’s a dark comedy and an homage to theBlaxploitation genre, including bits of science-fiction. Kiefer Sutherland appears asone of the central antagonists, Nixon, and does what he’s always done well - portrays a sinister villain with gusto. As Nixon, he gives a convincing performance of a cruel government enforcer. Though his appearance is short, it leaves a mark on the main characters and the plot itself.
They Cloned Tyrone
Three unlikely friends (played by John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, and Teyonah Parris) uncover a sinister organization below the homes in their neighborhood called The Glen.The Glen is full of people who have started acting strangely, and our explosive trio is there to get down to the bottom of things.
Watch On Netflix
9’Flatliners' (1990)
Character: Nelson Wright
Flatlinersremains one of the most iconic sci-fi horrors of the 1990s,despite not having the greatest critical reception. The most praise was garnered by Sutherland himself, who plays Nelson Wright, a medical student who convinces four of his friends to discover what lies beyond death. Nelson gives the foursome the idea to induce death, stay dead for a whole minute, and then get resuscitated by the rest of the group.
What Nelson doesn’t share after flatlining first is that hebegins experiencing hallucinations after being revived, letting the rest of the group uncover them by themselves. The movie plays with the idea that many people wonder about -what happens when we die?As Nelson, Sutherland is in charge of creating an atmosphere of dread, anticipation, and fear, which he does expertly. His character toes the line between being good and bad, which issomething Sutherland expressed doubts aboutto director Joel Schumacher. Though there was adisappointing remake in 2017, the original remains one ofthe scariest horror movies without any (definitive) deaths.
Watch on Hulu
8’Phone Booth' (2002)
Character: The Caller
Phone Boothis riddled with anticipation and tension,although it’s in one setting- a phone booth in the middle of a busy street.Colin Farrellstars as the wise-cracking NY publicist Stuart, who one day gets a call from a mysterious man (Kiefer Sutherland) to a phone booth near his office. Stuart presumes the call is coming from his mistress Pam (Katie Holmes), so he picks up the phone andbegins his participation in the cat-and-mouse gamebetween him and the unknown caller.
The caller wants one thing - to get Stuart to confess to all of his bad deeds, or else he gets shot in the middle of the street full of witnesses. Over time, their conversation escalates into police and public involvement, which makes Stuart even more jittery and jumpy. Sutherland so convincingly voices The Caller, thathis rage and disgust for Stuart are evident just from his toneof voice. This marks the fourth collaboration between Kiefer Sutherland andJoel Schumacher, as Schumacher seemingly loved casting Sutherland as his main antagonist.
Phone Booth
Stuart Shepard (Colin Farrell) feels larger than life. But, when he answers a call coming from the phone booth near him, he unwillingly becomes the mouse in a tense cat-and-mouse chase.
Watch on Disney+
7’Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me' (1992)
Character: Sam Stanley
As season one ofTwin Peakssits in the halls ofthe greatest TV seasons of all time,the same could not be said for the series' feature film prequel,Fire Walk With Me. Though it delves deeper into Laura Palmer’s life and death, it was, critically and box office-wise, very poorly received (which doesn’t stop fans from claiming it to beone of the greatest prequels ever.)David LynchbroughtKyle MacLachlanback as Special Agent Dale Cooper but hired a new face to play a part of the FBI - Kiefer Sutherland. He stepped into the role of agent Sam Stanley, in charge of investigating a murder in a rural town called Deer Meadow.
Though Sutherland doesn’t appear inFire Walk With Mevery much, he can be seen in a rare good guy appearance at that time (the 1990s were his peak bad guy time.) His character, AgentSam Stanley, is earnest, a bit clumsy, and ready to get down to the bottom of things. Many fans of the movie expressed a desire to see more of Stanley, most likely due to a combo of Kiefer Sutherland’s nuanced performance andMark Frostand David Lynch’s master-craftedTwin Peakslore. He was seen again inTwin Peaks: The Missing Piecesin 2014.
Watch on Amazon
6’The Lost Boys' (1987)
Character: David
Anyone who watched Sutherland’s rise to fame can’t forget his exceptional performance as the terrifyingly charming David inThe Lost Boys.He drives a motorcycle, wears leather, has spiky blonde hair, and is the ultimate 1980s bad boy.The Lost Boysfollows two teenage boys, Michael and Sam (Jason PatricandCorey Haim), who move with their mother to their grandfather’s hometown. This town is unusual, to say the least, and seems like a hub for vampire activity.
Michael, the older brother, meets a girl who one evening invites him tospend time with a gang of bikers, led by the charismatic David.In an interview for GQ, Kiefer Sutherland discussed his most iconic characters and included David fromThe Lost Boys, calling him “a well-rounded bad guy.” When trying on the iconic look, he mentionedhe based his hairstyle and look on the punk rock star Billy Idol, jokingly adding he fears that he was partially in charge of promoting “one the worst hairstyles of all time - the mullet.” Regardless of the hairstyle, David isone of the 80s horror iconsthat still bring shivers down people’s spines.
The Lost Boys
Two brothers (Jason Patric and Corey Haim) move with their mother to a new town, and soon realize that there’s more beneath the surface. The older boy becomes part of a biker gang led by the charismatic David (Kiefer Sutherland).
5’A Time to Kill' (1996)
Character: Freddie Lee Cobb
Freddie Lee Cobb inA Time to Killmight be Sutherland’s most controversial character to date (though it’s a tight race between Cobb and Robert Doob inEye for an Eye). In the GQ interview mentioned above, Sutherland also discusses Cobb as one of his most memorable characters, recalling that people refused to shake his hand because of his portrayal of Cobb.A Time to Killisone of the great courtroom dramasthat, beside Sutherland, starsMatthew McConaughey,Sandra Bullock, andSamuel L. Jackson. It was based on aJohn Grishamnovel and revolves around the trial of a man who takes justice into his own hands.
The moviemostly questions matters of racism and depicts the terror of white supremacy, so suffice it to say it was met with heavy controversy back in the mid-1990s. Interestingly, it wasespecially found distasteful in France, where critics were less than pleased with the movie’s intentions, wonderingwhether it glorified crime in some way. This is the third collaboration between Kiefer Sutherland and Joel Schumacher, Kiefer’s second appearance in a movie with his father,Donald Sutherland, and most likely his cruelest role.
A Time to Kill
Set in the Deep South and based on a John Grisham novel,A Time to Killfollows the trial of one man who decides to take justice into his own hands after the murder of his daughter.
Watch on Prime Video
4’Dark City' (1998)
Character: Dr. Daniel Schreber
The one role Sutherlandhappily talks about playing is Dr. Daniel Schreber. He met up with directorAlex Proyas(previously known forThe Crow)with a fully developed character in mind, appearance and character-wise. Proyas decided to give Sutherland a chance, and the rest is history.Dark Cityis a mystery sci-fi that was part of the late 90s wave of mind-bending science fiction. This period was all about toeing the line between reality and fantasy, and learning how there must be more to life outside the confines of our mind (The Matrix, anyone?)
Dark Cityfollows John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) who wakes up one day with most of his memory erased. While trying to piece his life together, John has to prove his innocence, and navigate the forces that surround him and seemingly rule the city. Sutherland plays the antagonist, once again,but his Dr. Schreber is captivating. Whether it’s the physical or mental transformation or his impressive delivery,it’s obvious Sutherland was dedicated and enjoyedplaying the part; Dr. Schreber fromDark Cityis often cited amongthe best horror movie villains.
John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes up one day, not knowing who he is or anything about his life. While trying to remember, John is forced to face off against the terrifying Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland).
Watch on AppleTV+
3’The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial' (2023)
Character: Commander Queeg
The final movie by the legendaryWilliam FriedkinwasThe Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. This is astar-studded courtroom dramarevolving around the trial of a young Lieutenant Maryk (Jake Lacy) who breaks the chain of command and takes control of the ship U.S.S. Caine. Lt. Maryk claims the ship’s Commander Queeg (Kiefer Sutherland) was unfit to control the ship, but breaking the rules isn’t easy in the Navy.
This exciting court drama stands the test of time, as it’s the second silver screen adaptation of the famous1952Herman WouknovelThe Caine Mutiny.Guillermo del Toroserved as an assisting director, and working with Friedkinleft him with a lot of impressions; he claimed that the tight schedule for filming never made the great director impatient. He rather said thatkindness was one of his greatest tools. Besides theimpressive critical receptionofThe Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Kiefer Sutherland garnered praise for portraying Commander Queeg. His rock-solid performancegives the character something Humphrey Boggart didn’tin the highly praised 1954 version, leaning more into Queeg’s psychological state.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Follows the trial of Lt. Maryk (Jake Lacy), who claims to have broken the chain of command at U.S.S. Caine due to Commander Queeg’s (Kiefer Sutherland) unfit leadership. Based on Herman Wouk’s 1952 novel The Caine Mutiny.
2’A Few Good Men' (1992)
Character: 2nd. Lt. Jonathan Kendrick
Another highly praised and loved courtroom drama,A Few Good Men, relies on a sharp andcaptivating script byAaron Sorkin. The story follows a Navy lawyer, Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), taking on a case todefend two Marines accused of killing a fellow Marine. Here, Kiefer Sutherland is part of a much larger ensemble cast that, besides him and Cruise, includesJack Nicholson,Demi Moore,Kevin Polack,Kevin Bacon, andCuba Gooding Jr.
A Few Good Menwasn’t the first courtroom drama to deliver palpable tension to the silver screen, but thecompelling delivery of its ensemble cast and Rob Reiner’s directingmade it an all-time favorite. Sutherland plays 2nd Lieutenant Kendrick, one of the Marines suspected of knowing more about the details of the crime. Within the genius ensemble cast, Sutherland functions as an integral part of what makesA Few Good Mena fantastic movie, even if he, once again, portrays a villainous figure.
A Few Good Men
Military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.
1’Stand by Me' (1986)
Character: Ace Merrill
Kiefer Sutherland was as young as 17 years old when he got cast forStand By Me. Though the main cast is much younger than that, this was Sutherland’s first-ever role, and potentially thereason he was typecast for a lot of his career. Ace Merrill is a cruel antagonist to a group of young boys inStand By Me. This isthe best Stephen King novel adaptation(and apparently,one of King’s favorites), combining a classiccoming-of-age storywith tension and adventure.
The four leading boys (Jerry O’Connell,Corey Feldman,Will Wheaton, andRiver Phoenix) werebecoming close friends in real lifewhile portraying friends in the movie. When they find a dead body one day, their world changes; the story focuses on their friendship, hardships, and how they face adversity. One of their enemies is Ace Merrill and his crew, who continuously bully the leading four. Sutherland was so convincing on and off-camera as a villain,according to Jerry O’Connell, who said he often picked on the boys to stay in character.
