KIEFER SUTHERLAND does not have the looks of a typical Hollywood romantic leading man, like, say, Cary Grant or even the British import Hugh Grant—which is just fine. After all, who needs another nice sweet-talking gentleman in a tuxedo when the world has become more dangerous after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in 2001?

With his naughty sexy grin and piercing menacing eyes, plus a bad-boy image off-screen, Sutherland is perfect for villainous roles, like the rapist-murderer who tormented Sally Field in the suspense-thriller Eye for an Eye, the leader of the pack of teen vampires in The Lost Boys, or the Ku Klux Klan fanatic in A Time to Kill.

Of course, he’s done his share of leading roles with a marked edginess in them, including the medical student in Flatliners, where he costarred and fell in love with Julia Roberts, and as one of the five guys seeking justice in the Brat pack-style Western Young Guns. Sadly, these films didn’t transform him into one of Hollywood’s brightest stars in manner of Tom Cruise.

Not that Sutherland doesn’t have the cred for major Hollywood stardom. He is talented and pedigreed (his father is the versatile actor Donald Sutherland and his mother is Canadian actress Shirley Douglas). But after doing 50 or more movies (he started acting at age nine), stardom continued to elude him. While he continued to make movies, his roles were mostly forgettable. To the public at large, the most unforgettable thing about Sutherland at the time was that he was Julia Robert’s ex-boyfriend whom she ditched mere days before their wedding. At one point, he seriously considered quitting Hollywood altogether.

Then, as luck would have it, 24 came along in 2001 and, with its intriguing hook (each season follows 24 hours in the life of the protagonist played by Sutherland), the espionage series went on to become one of the most compulsively watchable shows on TV. The landmark series boosted his Hollywood stock. Overnight, all eyes were on him and have been since.

With his constantly electrifying turn as the hero Jack Bauer, a government agent who uncovers a plot to assassinate a presidential candidate, Sutherland has become part of the Hollywood A-list with a global legion of adoring fans from both sexes, and has been tagged as the “Thinking Woman’s Leading Man’’ and collected four Emmy and Golden Globe nominations along the way (he finally won an Emmy in 2006, four years after bagging a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2002). He is reportedly TV’s highest-paid actor, getting a hefty $40-million paycheck for the show.

In one of his interviews, Sutherland said that 24 has changed “everything’’ in his more than 20-year career in showbiz.

“The funny thing about TV is, I read 24 and it was very different and it was one of those things that was either going to work or not work. If it doesn’t work, it’s a pilot no one will ever see and the network will quickly bury it. If it does, you get lucky. We just got incredibly lucky. In all fairness, it’s given me my opportunity back,’’ he said in an interview for an entertainment magazine.

Reports have it that Sutherland is now busy with the seventh season of 24, which will start airing in January 2008. According to Variety, he is expected to wrap up filming this month on Mirrors, a supernatural thriller. Sutherland’s most recent big-screen outing was opposite Michael Douglas in last year’s The Sentinel.

Besides acting, Sutherland is also into music and loves collecting vintage guitars. He owns a studio in Los Angeles, which has helped the careers of musicians like Rocco DeLuca, Jude Cole, Ron Sexsmith and Mozella.

Taking advantage of his newfound star status, Sutherland has also done commercials in Tokyo, where he has a huge following, and is among the high-profile celeb endorsers of luxe watch brand Baume & Mercier (Meg Ryan is another).

Not a bad turn of events for someone who almost quit the business. 

****

Wearing the instant classic CLASSIMA BY BAUME & MERCIER, KIEFER SUTHERLAND makes the pitch for improving children’s education, seeking a cure for cancer and protecting the environment. Know how you can help by visiting www.baume-et-mercier.com. Baume & Mercier and other luxury Swiss-quality timepieces can be found at Alexis, Parklane and Royal Time stores.

A Time to Thrill

KIEFER SUTHERLAND does not have the looks of a typical Hollywood romantic leading man, like, say, Cary Grant or even the British import Hugh Grant—which is just fine. After all, who needs another nice sweet-talking gentleman in a tuxedo when the world has become more dangerous after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in 2001?

Gab Fab: Starlet leaves heart for family

MAEGAN YOUNG inadvertently made a bit of showbiz history.

Shaken & Stirred: Birthday cheers, snaps galore

WELL, sweetie, we all can take heart in the fact that for all the annoying and annoyingly fake stuff covered obsessively by the media—a supposedly repentant and enlightened Paris Hilton (not!), a supposedly remorseful Gretchen Barretto (in designer clothes, of course!), an entertainment has-been desperately trying to remain in the news—there’s always something genuine and human to provide relief from all the everyday annoyances.

Cooks: The New Wonder Food

I USED to poke fun at the vegetarian diet, calling it was boring, confined to a bowl of grass to eat, and that vegetables did nothing to raise carnal awareness.

Learning Curve: The Nanay Diaries

SHE came to our house on an eventful date: February 14, two weeks after we got our baby and after a month of interviewing all sorts of personalities. But unlike those imported yayas portrayed on TV, like the portly 911 Nannies or the imposing Super Nanny, she looked ordinary, even more motherly than professional.

Something Like Life: Dating with kids

A FRIEND who lives in the province e-mailed me last week after he had read my previous columns on dating. Gene—which is not his real name, of course, or he would kill me—brought up an interesting issue in his note. He was anxious about his own dating situation.