Top 30 Kiefer Sutherland Quotes

One of the big draws of the show is here’s a guy who is ordinary in a lot of ways but, due to his profession, he’s placed in extraordinary situations that he has to make right with action and with thought. That’s what is appealing about Jack – he takes charge.

I have a very strong political outlook, and that is something I’d like to take more responsibility for in my life. I don’t believe in utilising certain aspects of the power I have with celebrity to push that forward, but I would like to make some films that address some of those political issues.

When I saw Virginia Woolf, somewhere between the first and second acts, someone I had known as my mother became somebody else.

The biggest mistakes I made in my career were when I said, ‘If I do this movie, I’ll be able to do a couple more movies.’ Those are the times I really got ugly.

I do believe very strongly that all of us and all of the other things in the context of our planet with Mother Nature, all of these things absolutely have a profound effect.

I love collecting guitars, even though I can’t play well. My favourite guitarists are Richie Blackmore, Jimmy Paige, and John Mayer.

The writers keep managing to turn the show in on itself, coming up with something that’s well thought-out and miraculous.

There are three things we need to do for a band. We need to make a great record; we need to get the record played; and we need to find an audience for the live shows.

There’s a confidence that comes from youth and not knowing better. But there comes a point, as an actor, when you do know better, and that is when the fear starts.

I had an unbelievable experience on ’24’. We shot 198 episodes, and I was as excited about shooting the 198th as I was the first.

I didn’t realize that television has gone through immense changes and has become very progressive.

I’m a huge fan of Canadian rock-and-roll. When I was growing up, Rush came out with a record called Hemispheres, and I must have listened to that record for two years straight. Even when I was asleep I had it on. So, yeah, whenever I hear a Rush tune, the first thing I think of is Toronto.

When you’re a young actor you like to go for characters with a bit of flair, so in many films I ended up playing the weirdos. I can assure you I’m not a psycho or a criminal or a bully.

I think that the day you’ve figured out the differences between women and men is the day that you’re no longer attracted to women. It’s the difference that is so fantastic and frustrating and angering, and really sexy.

I was 20 when my daughter was born, and making all these plans during my wife’s pregnancy. I was going to be the perfect father. Once she was born, it was suddenly, ‘Oh, my God! I’m a parent!’

If your ethics in the military, in your training, is going to be counterminded by a one-hour weekly television show, we’ve got a really big problem.

My whole mood or sense can change by virtue of the music that I’m listening to. It really does affect me on a visceral and emotional level.

My parents not only did it for a living, but they were really good at it.

I’ve made films that I’ve given all I had to, that no one has seen. The bottom line is I want to work and I want someone to enjoy it.

I like chatting with people. If people ask me a direct question, I give them a direct answer and I feel I’ve always done that with the press.

I loved ’24’, but I didn’t think anyone else would. I had absolutely no idea.

There are aspects of ’24’ where I love its politics and aspects where I hate them.

You can’t ask the press to service you with everything that they have and not expect some of the other stuff in return if you’re going to live your life like I have.

My mother’s five-foot-two, and I’ll be honest with you – she’s the only person I’m scared of.

When we shoot 24, there are so many things I have to worry about, from the script to technical things to my performance, that I don’t have a second to be bored or take anything for granted. We produce 24 hours of film a season, which is like making 12 movies.

I am a bit obsessive about tidiness. I need to make my bed in the morning and leave it perfectly made up.

’24’ and 20th Century Fox and Sky TV are not responsible for training the U.S. military. It is not our job to do. To me, this is almost as absurd as saying, ‘The Sopranos’ supports the mafia, and by virtue of that, HBO supports the mafia.’

Some people think it’s because ’24’ was jump-started by what happened on 9/11. That was never why we made the show. We started production six months prior to 9/11, and we’d already done ten episodes.

There are a lot of movies I’d like to throw away. That’s not to say that I went in with that attitude. Any film I ever started, I went in with all the hope and best intentions in the world, but some films just don’t work.

When Julia and I broke up and I was really scared to go into a market or anywhere because I thought, ‘Oh God, everyone must hate me. And that wasn’t the case. People said, ‘I’m sorry this happened, man. Are you alright?’