10 Best Kiefer Sutherland Movies, Ranked (2024)

It seems Kiefer Sutherland has always been typecast as a villain. From Eye for an Eye, a role that terrified parents of small children, to Phone 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 series 24 for nearly ten years. 24 changed the public's perception of Sutherland, and later, he starred in shows like Designated Survivor and Rabbit 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 play The Championship Season. His performance 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 the Barbie and Oppenheimer (fondly known as Barbenheimer) premiere hype, it was tough to notice anything else happening in terms of movie premieres. But, on July 21st, Netflix released They 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 Tyrone is one of the best movies of 2023.

John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, and Teyonah Parris star as an unlikely trio that uncovers a deeper conspiracy happening right below their neighborhood. It's a dark comedy and an homage to the Blaxploitation genre, including bits of science-fiction. Kiefer Sutherland appears as one 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.

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9 'Flatliners' (1990)

Character: Nelson Wright

Flatliners remains 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 he begins 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 is something Sutherland expressed doubts about to director Joel Schumacher. Though there was a disappointing remake in 2017, the original remains one of the scariest horror movies without any (definitive) deaths.

Watch on Hulu

8 'Phone Booth' (2002)

Character: The Caller

Phone Booth is riddled with anticipation and tension, although it's in one setting - a phone booth in the middle of a busy street. Colin Farrell stars 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 and begins his participation in the cat-and-mouse game between 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, that his rage and disgust for Stuart are evident just from his tone of voice. This marks the fourth collaboration between Kiefer Sutherland and Joel 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.

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7 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me' (1992)

Character: Sam Stanley

As season one of Twin Peaks sits in the halls of the 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 be one of the greatest prequels ever.) David Lynch brought Kyle MacLachlan back 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 in Fire Walk With Me very much, he can be seen in a rare good guy appearance at that time (the 1990s were his peak bad guy time.) His character, Agent Sam 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 and Mark Frost and David Lynch's master-crafted Twin Peaks lore. He was seen again in Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces in 2014.

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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 in The Lost Boys. He drives a motorcycle, wears leather, has spiky blonde hair, and is the ultimate 1980s bad boy. The Lost Boys follows two teenage boys, Michael and Sam (Jason Patric and Corey 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 to spend 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 from The Lost Boys, calling him "a well-rounded bad guy." When trying on the iconic look, he mentioned he 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 is one of the 80s horror icons that 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).

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5 'A Time to Kill' (1996)

Character: Freddie Lee Cobb

Freddie Lee Cobb in A Time to Kill might be Sutherland's most controversial character to date (though it's a tight race between Cobb and Robert Doob in Eye 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 Kill is one of the great courtroom dramas that, beside Sutherland, stars Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, and Samuel L. Jackson. It was based on a John Grisham novel and revolves around the trial of a man who takes justice into his own hands.

The movie mostly 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 was especially found distasteful in France, where critics were less than pleased with the movie's intentions, wondering whether 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 Kill follows the trial of one man who decides to take justice into his own hands after the murder of his daughter.

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4 'Dark City' (1998)

Character: Dr. Daniel Schreber

The one role Sutherland happily talks about playing is Dr. Daniel Schreber. He met up with director Alex Proyas (previously known for The 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 City is 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 City follows 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 enjoyed playing the part; Dr. Schreber from Dark City is often cited among the best horror movie villains.

Dark City

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).

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3 'The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial' (2023)

Character: Commander Queeg

The final movie by the legendary William Friedkin was The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. This is a star-studded courtroom drama revolving 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 famous 1952 Herman Wouk novel The Caine Mutiny. Guillermo del Toro served as an assisting director, and working with Friedkin left him with a lot of impressions; he claimed that the tight schedule for filming never made the great director impatient. He rather said that kindness was one of his greatest tools. Besides the impressive critical reception of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Kiefer Sutherland garnered praise for portraying Commander Queeg. His rock-solid performance gives the character something Humphrey Boggart didn't in 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.

Watch on Hulu

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 and captivating script by Aaron Sorkin. The story follows a Navy lawyer, Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), taking on a case to defend two Marines accused of killing a fellow Marine. Here, Kiefer Sutherland is part of a much larger ensemble cast that, besides him and Cruise, includes Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Polack, Kevin Bacon, and Cuba Gooding Jr.

A Few Good Men wasn't the first courtroom drama to deliver palpable tension to the silver screen, but the compelling 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 makes A Few Good Men a 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.

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1 'Stand by Me' (1986)

Character: Ace Merrill

Kiefer Sutherland was as young as 17 years old when he got cast for Stand By Me. Though the main cast is much younger than that, this was Sutherland's first-ever role, and potentially the reason he was typecast for a lot of his career. Ace Merrill is a cruel antagonist to a group of young boys in Stand By Me. This is the best Stephen King novel adaptation (and apparently, one of King's favorites), combining a classic coming-of-age story with tension and adventure.

The four leading boys (Jerry O'Connell, Corey Feldman, Will Wheaton, and River Phoenix) were becoming close friends in real life while 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.

Stand By Me

Four young boys spend the summer becoming friends in Castlerock.

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