The Sutherlands: A Hollywood Father-Son Duo

Key Takeaways

• Donald and Kiefer Sutherland were cast in three movies together, but only shared scenes in Forsaken.
• Kiefer admired his father and often stated it was a dream to work alongside Donald.
• Kiefer first realized how talented his father was after watching a collection of his films at age 17.

By the time Forsaken hit screens in 2015, Donald Sutherland had been Hollywood royalty for the better part of 50 years. From M*A*S*H to Hunger Games, the towering and ubiquitous Canadian had become a dominant player in the acting world.

With nearly 200 credits to his name, Sutherland often spent more time with castmates than his own kin. A trade-off felt by any parent whose paycheck forced them to miss a milestone at home.

So, imagine growing up as Kiefer Sutherland and electing to follow in your father’s gigantic footsteps.

Now known as a renowned, and in many ways, equally famous actor, Kiefer Sutherland was once a wide-eyed, 17-year-old aspirational young man heading to Hollywood hoping to make something of himself. A young man unaware of the weight his last name held.

“So, I’m 17 years old and I’ve moved to Los Angeles,” Kiefer told the BBC in 2024. “And a friend had this incredible collection of all my father’s films on VHS.”

Over the coming days, Kiefer indoctrinated himself through his father’s greatest hits. He came out the other side with a sincere and awe-struck appreciation for what his old man had been up to all those years. An ensuing phone call between father and son changed their relationship forever.

“I didn’t realize how special and great you are as an actor,” said Kiefer.

“How could you,” replied a tearful Donald. “You were just a boy.”

Fast-forward 30 years, and you can truly appreciate what it must have meant for this father-son duo to share the screen together. Credited in the same movie twice before, Max Dugan Returns (1983), and A Time to Kill (1996), Donald and Kiefer had never shared scenes before appearing alongside each other in Forsaken.

It was the moment a father and son finally met as equals on screen. A moment worth the wait.

The entire Forsaken story centers around one man’s return home, and his battle to reconcile with both his past and his father. The story was, in some ways, Kiefer’s idea.

He came to director Jon Cassar and writer Brad Mirman with a question.

“What if we inverted Shane?”

With similar themes to the 1953 classic, Forsaken is a modern Western that holds its own, largely due to the performances given by the two Sutherlands. People can act, but getting the real thing captured on camera is always so powerful. The real love in the eyes of a father and a son, the real relationship pouring through … it’s all there.

The way Kiefer holds his dad in high regard is evident on and off set.

“I have always felt that my father is not only one of the most prolific actors in the English language, but one of the most important,” Kiefer told NBC’s Dylan Dryer. “He’s someone that I had wanted to work with for my entire career.”

Thirty years after first learning who his dad really was, Kiefer’s wish came true. Meeting his hero eye to eye, man to man, actor to actor.

Donald Sutherland died June 20, 2024, and the Forsaken scenes proved to be the final time the two Sutherlands worked together on a project. A lasting look at not one, but two members of Hollywood royalty.