In Designated Survivor, the 24 star is a new US leader thrown in at the deep end. As a second season starts on Netflix, he talks about art imitating life

Kiefer Sutherland is about to enter the Oval Office for a new term of office and it is daunting. As the lead in the American political thriller series Designated Survivor, the Hollywood star knows that, now more than ever, when you play the president of the United States you are handling a fundamental national myth.

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“You have to grow up in America to really understand this belief that anyone can be president,” Sutherland told the Observer. “There is a very strong idea that everybody has the potential to be great. And that clearly has both good and bad sides.”

The Emmy award-winning actor, famous for films such as The Lost Boys and Flatliners, became a household name as Jack Bauer in 24, the landmark television thriller of the early 2000s. In his latest series, made by Netflix, Sutherland plays a low-level cabinet member who is thrust into leadership after a major terrorist attack wipes out fellow members of the US government.

It is a dark premise, said the actor and co-producer, which goes to the heart of a powerful American faith in their system. From George Washington’s fabled inability to tell a lie, through to Mr Smith Goes to Washington, the much-loved 1939 Frank Capra film in which James Stewart challenges corruption on Capitol Hill, respect for democracy has been built on a shared belief that the little man can win in the end.

“It is a story that fits into the American narrative,” said Sutherland. “Being president is seen as the greatest accomplishment. From a very early age this is true, so when children are asked what they want to be when they grow up they say president of the United States. It really is what people fantasise about, although ultimately the reality of it is not the way it seems. The problem is that those qualities that make you more capable of understanding the job are the ones that would stop you wanting to do it.”

People do find it reassuring that in our show almost everything is approached with a level of common sense. Kiefer Sutherland

Just as the first series of 24 in 2001 seemed to predict the terror threat to come, so Sutherland’s current portrayal of a president struggling to understand the demands of high office has found topical echoes in the era of Donald Trump.

“We are not looking to what is happening in real life but sometimes it comes close,” he said. “In the same way, when 9/11 happened we were already six months into filming 24, but we made no deliberate allusions to it. And again now, we are not mirroring what is going on – that is not our show. We are not looking directly at Trump, although of course the idea that someone can come into office and start making very different decisions is a very ‘Americana’ thing.”

In the show, Sutherland’s President Tom Kirkman repeatedly has to choose between trusting his own instincts or the advice of his experienced aides.

“We are trying to tell the story of a man who is there by virtue of extreme circumstances and is making a sacrifice in order to do the right thing. What we would really like to get into, now we are in the second season, is a place where, in the end, you have to have huge respect for the job,” said Sutherland.

Kirkman’s wife, an immigration lawyer and an uncertain first lady, is played by British star Natascha McElhone. “Natascha is back in the new series and she is fantastic,” he said. “It is a world that can tear a family apart and we are dealing with the effect of this job. With other shows I love, like The Wire or The Sopranos, we know you can go quite dark. Don’t ever underestimate what an audience has the ability to digest. People can relate to the honesty. And then, of course, there is also the opportunity to do something that is inspiring with it.”

In troubled political times there can be some comfort, Sutherland suggested, in watching politics play out safely on the small screen. “On television we have control over the outcome, of course, so it can actually look more functional than real-world politics. People do find it reassuring that in our show almost everything is approached with a level of common sense. It may not end up winning the day, but it is clear what the right choice is.”

Sutherland, 50, will also be seen next week alongside British star James Norton in the remake of Flatliners. This time he has the cameo role of a professor, assumed to be an older version of the character he played in the original, opposite Kevin Bacon and Julia Roberts. He is touring Canada with his country music band while making the television show, which goes out on Netflix after an initial broadcast on ABC. And although the part of a US president might seem far from his real life as a travelling musician and former Hollywood wild child, political leadership runs in his blood. His mother, the actress Shirley Douglas, was the daughter of Tommy Douglas, the former premier of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, who is often credited for bringing universal healthcare to Canada.



The first season of Designated Survivor is out on DVD in the UK this week

HAIL TO THE CHIEFS

The Daddy A comforting Martin Sheen as President Jed Bartlet in The West Wing (1999-2006).

The Figurehead An imposing Geena Davis as President Mackenzie Allen in ABC’s series Commander in Chief (2005).

The Gamechanger Dennis Haysbert as President David Palmer in 24, possibly paving the way for Barack Obama (2001-2006).

The Snake Kevin Spacey as the slippery President Frank Underwood in Netflix’s House of Cards (2013-present).

The Fallen Eve Robin Wright as Flotus eventually turned Potus Claire Underwood in House of Cards (2013-present).

The Incompetent Julia Louis-Dreyfus as hapless Vice-President Selina Meyer in Armando Iannucci’s sitcom Veep (2012- present).