Giles Matthey revealed some interesting news in a recent interview with 24 Live Another Podcast – he claims that Kiefer Sutherland was heavily involved in the writing process for the final two episodes of 24: Live Another Day!
“Kiefer Sutherland wrote the last two. He took a long time writing those episodes, that’s a bit of info for you there. He played a large part with the writing.” (17:10)
Very interesting! As far as I know Kiefer Sutherland isn’t credited as a writer on those episodes (Evan Katz is credited with the finale). It’s unlikely that Kiefer was inside the writers room actually banging out scripts with the rest of the crew. Giles probably means that Sutherland provided a lot of input into the direction of the story or perhaps his character in particular.
Kiefer Sutherland has been an executive producer on the show for several seasons now. Back In April, Variety reported that “Sutherland had input in the tone of the new episodes, right down to influencing the image projected on the key art.”
Other interview tidbits:
Kiefer kicks ass: “When we used to go out after shooting, he’d take us out and we’d have a drink and he’s a very funny charming guy. When he’s on set, he is razor sharp, he is Jack Bauer on set. He’s a different guy […] You know when he’s on set, here’s there to work and kick ass.”
On whether he watched the series: “I wouldn’t say I was a fan, no. I was aware of it and aware of how popular it was. I didn’t get into it, I couldn’t because my friend was so far ahead and I couldn’t be bothered to sort of go back from episode 1. When I got this role I went back and did a lot of watching.”
Doing the show justice: “You have to make sure that you do justice for the fans and the show cause it’s such a great show that you don’t want to dissapoint and let down the show that’s giving you a chance. So the pressure was through the roof for me at least, not probably as much for the other actors who were more experienced than me, but I really felt like I want to do 24 proud if you know what I mean. I wanna do the fans proud even if I’m a goody or a baddy, I want to do justice for the show. So there was a real sense of responsibility as well. Trust me, I lived and breathed it.”
Regarding talks of Jordan replacing Chloe: “You can’t replace Chloe, you just can’t do it. She’s brilliant and so individual.”
Keeping quiet: “If you say anything publicly about what’s going to happen, you can genuinely get sued. It’s in your contract. You can get sued, a lot of bad stuff will happen to you. It’s not worth it.”
Favorite non-Jack character (not counting Live Another Day): “I really like Tony Almeida, he’s cool.”
What Jordan Should’ve Done: “I think what he should’ve done is shoot him in both shoulders and his kneecaps, so therefore he’s literally lying there but he’s not going to die.”
This is just a small sample of the interview; check out the entire 40 minute long interview with Giles at the link below. He seems like a very nice and down to earth guy.