The “awful” 1996 role that followed Kiefer Sutherland everywhere: “Kind of nasty and not nice”
Kiefer Sutherland says his role as Robert Doob in the 1996 thriller *Eye for an Eye* was especially difficult because the character was so disturbing. He recalled that, after the film came out, people at a family restaurant took their children and left when they saw him, showing how strongly the performance shaped some viewers’ perceptions.
Sutherland described Doob and several other roles from that period as “kind of nasty and not nice”. He took the part partly because he wanted to work with director John Schlesinger and valued the story, though the film received poor reviews and barely broke even. Sutherland says he later moved beyond that kind of casting, helped in part by ageing and younger employers being unfamiliar with his earlier work.
- Sutherland found playing Robert Doob particularly difficult.
- He said strangers avoided him after the film’s release.
- He later broadened the types of roles he played.
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Eye for an Eye is a 1996 thriller directed by John Schlesinger, about a mother seeking justice after her daughter is assaulted and murdered. Kiefer Sutherland plays Robert Doob, the man responsible for the crime.
The film’s story explores the tension between relying on the law and taking justice into one’s own hands. Sutherland has said that playing Doob was difficult, and that audiences sometimes associated him with the disturbing character.