Kiefer Sutherland Explains Why He Didn’t Get to Know Late Father Donald Until He ‘Left Home at 15’

Kiefer Sutherland’s relationship with father Donald Sutherland, who died earlier this month, developed over time.

“Me and my dad really got to know each other after I left home at 15. My parents split when I was three and my mum, sister and I moved to Canada,” Kiefer, 57, said in a profile for London’s The Times published on Saturday, June 29. “I didn’t live with my dad. I would see him at Christmas and for a couple of weeks in the summer. I certainly did see him, but it was really relegated to around holidays.”

Donald and ex-wife Shirley Douglas shared twins Kiefer and Rachel. After their divorce, the legendary actor moved on with wife Francine Racette. Donald and Racette, 76, shared sons Roeg, 50, Rossif, 45, and Angus, 41.

According to Kiefer, he was “in a hurry to grow up.”

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“I certainly wish I hadn’t taken the car,” he told the U.K. newspaper about stealing a vehicle when he was a teenager. "That was just me wanting to drive and feel older. There are things I wish I had done differently, but I’m grateful for some of the things I had the courage to do. When I left home it was the first time that teenagers were playing teenagers on screen, so I did that at the right time.”

Kiefer left home to become an actor, following in Donald’s footsteps.

“I have to believe that having the same surname as my dad has helped me at times,” he confessed. “There must have been moments where people who were friendly with my dad leant towards helping me. But I know of two specific instances where someone was not friendly with my dad and I sat in the office for four hours and never got the meeting.”

Since becoming a father himself — the 24 alum shares daughter Sarah, 36, with ex-wife Camelia Kath — Kiefer can understand Donald’s perspective more.

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“When my daughter was born, I realized how unprepared I was,” Kiefer told The Times. “She was so small that I was scared to hold her. I realized that being a father was not a lark; it was a real responsibility.”

Donald died on June 20 at the age of 88 following a lengthy illness.

“With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away,” Kiefer announced via social media at the time. “I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”