The 2002 scene Kiefer Sutherland tried his hardest not to shoot: “That’s the worst decision ever”

Kiefer Sutherland has recalled how he tried to talk Fox executives out of killing off his character's wife, Teri Bauer, at the end of the first season of 24 in May 2002, calling it "the worst decision ever" at the time. The London-born actor, best known for playing counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer, said he warned then-Fox Television head Gail Berman that audiences would not accept the hero failing to save his own wife across a full season of real-time drama.

Berman went ahead with the twist regardless, and Sutherland has since admitted he was "absolutely wrong" to object, as the shocking finale became one of the defining moments of a series that ran for nine seasons over 15 years and earned 12 Golden Globe nominations, including six for Sutherland himself, one of which he won. The renewed interest in Sutherland's career follows Phoebe Bridgers' new song "Lost Boys", which has prompted fans to revisit his earlier breakout role as a vampire gang leader in the 1987 film The Lost Boys; he is next set to appear alongside Al Pacino in the Luc Besson-written film Father Joe later this year.