Kiefer Sutherland Says Jack Bauer's Story is Unresolved and is Open To Coming Back For More 24
It doesn’t sound like Kiefer Sutherland is ready to close the book on his character Jack Bauer from the hit series 24. In a recent interview with GQ magazine, the actor explained that he feels Bauer’s story is unresolved and he’s leaving the door open to return to the role again someday. He said:
“I miss it. It was an incredible experience. I have learned that you’re just better off not to be definitive about your answer of whether you will do something or not do something. I love playing that character. I do believe the story is unresolved. If something were to be written that made sense to me and that I thought was going to contribute to the franchise then I would be behind it, even if my participation in that were to be limited. My involvement will always be predicated on what I perceive is the quality of the writing. If [original showrunner] Howard Gordon is motivated to do it, we’ll see what happens.”
I was hooked on 24 when it was airing on Fox. It was such a great show and I loved its unique format. The series ran for 9 seasons between 2001 and 2010. It was revived in 2014 for the 12-episode limited series 24: Live Another Day. In 2017 we had the spinoff series 24: Legacy, but that show was not very good.
Bauer also revealed that at one point during the first season of the series he almost quit due to the September 11th terrorist attacks. 24 premiered in November 2001, which was just a couple of months after the attacks. He explained:
“All of us felt very strongly that after that terrible day of 9/11 when our show started emulating one of the great tragedies in American history… I remember going through weeks of not wanting to do it anymore, and I think everybody on the show felt the same. Nobody wanted anything coming close to representing this awful thing we just watched happened. Having said that, the country felt very differently. Even if it was just a television show and a guy fighting back, that’s what they wanted. So that’s what we did.”
I’d love to see Sutherland come back for another Jack Bauer story! I have no idea if it will ever happen, but if it does, I’ll tune in to watch it!