Kiefer Sutherland wins ACTRA honour

Canada's actors union, ACTRA, will present its Award of Excellence to Kiefer Sutherland, star of TV series 24 and a veteran of more than 50 films.

The award is presented every two years to an ACTRA member working predominantly in Los Angeles.

"We are proud to present this award to Kiefer who, as a Canadian actor working in the U.S., has overcome great odds to build one of the most successful careers in Hollywood," Richard Hardacre, national president of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, said in a statement.

"Kiefer is truly a worthy recipient of the ACTRA Award of Excellence. He values his Canadian roots as evidenced in his support and encouragement of our industry," he said.

Sutherland has won both a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his role as agent Jack Bauer on the action series 24.

He also has appeared recently in movies such as The Sentinel and was the voice of the caller in Phone Booth.

He is the son of Canadian actors Shirley Douglas and Donald Sutherland and the grandson of Tommy Douglas, the legendary Saskatchewan Premier and founder of medicare.

He got his first film role in the movie Max Dugan Returns (1983) and his firstmajor role in the Canadian drama, The Bay Boy, in 1984.

However,when he moved to Los Angeles, he lived in his car for three months before landingearly roles in Amazing Stories and Trapped in Silence.

In 2005, Sutherland was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.

The ACTRA award will be presented Sept. 26 at the home of the Canadian consul in Los Angeles.