EXCLUSIVE: 'Struggling' Kiefer Sutherland Savaged Over 'Utterly Pathetic' Christmas Film Role — 'He Really is a Lost Boy'

When the franchise finally ended, he assumed steady work would follow.

Instead, the actor now acknowledges the offers he expected never arrived – as reality sources told us has shaped his recent choices, including a role in Tinsel Town, a holiday release that has drawn massively harsh criticism.

Sutherland admitted in a Christmas interview in which he laid bare his surprise at the post-24 silence: "After 24, I thought I would just naturally have a bunch of opportunities staring me in the face. But the truth is, if you don't create those opportunities, they're just not there. As someone who likes to work, there have been times when I haven't worked for a while – because I didn't do a lot of the planning that's required."

Industry figures say the disappointment lying behind Sutherland's remarks helps explain his willingness to embrace far less prestigious projects such as the pantomime-themed Tinsel Town, which sees him play a washed-up actor who travels to Britain to unwittingly take a part in a community stage play.

One television producer familiar with his career said, "There is a sense that Kiefer is taking whatever comes along now. After playing a character as dominant as Jack Bauer, it is hard to recalibrate, and some of these roles feel like attempts to stay visible rather than inspired choices that have anything to do with art or proper movies."

After 24, Sutherland did secure another high-profile lead playing the U.S. president in the political thriller Designated Survivor, which ran for three seasons, and appeared in a reboot of The Fugitive.

Yet those successes did not restore the sense of momentum he once enjoyed.

A former showbiz agent said, "He went from being the man networks built schedules around to competing in a crowded streaming market. That shift can be brutal, even for established names. Tinsel Town has been slammed as an utterly pathetic Christmas movie, and it made Kiefer seem like an utterly lost boy, excuse the pun."

Reflecting more broadly on his career, Sutherland admitted he made compromises early on in his life, driven by financial pressure rather than artistic direction.

"I've never really had a very specific idea of where I want to take my career," he said.

"Looking back, there are moments when I wish I had been that guy. Almost from the beginning. I had kids at a very early age. I had responsibilities, and I had to make a lot of choices early on in my career. There was a financial component to those choices, more than I wish there had been. And so, some opportunities I had to pass on. And I regret that."

Sutherland became a father in his early 20s to daughter Sarah Sutherland, now 37, during his marriage to Camelia Kath, 72.

Friends say that sense of responsibility never left him.

"Kiefer has always worked with the weight of providing on his shoulders," one longtime associate said. "That can box you in creatively over time and force you to take limp projects like Tinsel Town."

The actor has also spoken candidly about how 24 offered a rare sense of stability in an otherwise precarious profession.

Sutherland said, "I think 24 for me was a fantastic opportunity because it was the first thing that felt like a real job. I went to work five days a week, eight months to 10 months a year, and then I was lucky enough to do it nine years in a row. So, there was a moment where that made me feel calmer. But I'm back to the every three months I'm out of a job kind of thing."

Despite the criticism surrounding Tinsel Town, Sutherland insists he is not embittered.

"I've been so fortunate, I'm certainly not going to complain about that. But it does take a certain kind of wear, you know," he said.

A source added: "For now, his career stands as a case study in how even television's most durable heroes can struggle once the clock finally runs out."