Kiefer Sutherland Overcomes ‘Stigma’ to Release Debut Album, ‘Down in a Hole’

Kiefer Sutherland admits he's had to overcome some of his own reluctance in order to release his brand-new debut album, Down in a Hole.

The 49-year-old performer is best known for his starring role in TV's 24, as well as roles in films including Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, Flatliners, Young Guns and A Few Good Men, among many others. He harbored an interest in music for a long time before taking the plunge.

"Music has been a passion of mine as a listener from the time I can remember," he tells Taste of Country in the clip above. "As I got older, I started to get into country music. I was a huge fan of country music because so many of the writers write in the first person narrative, and they would take on the characters that they were playing in their songs."

That played into his other passion, acting. "There was a real correlation for me as an actor, and the desire to tell a story in a film or a television show or onstage, to wanting to write songs in that fashion as well."

That led him to writing the songs for Down in a Hole, knowing fully well that he'd be facing an uphill battle for credibility.

"There's a huge stigma about an actor doing music, and I completely understand that," Sutherland says with a rueful smile. "But for me, I got to a point in my life where A, I liked the songs I was writing, I liked the way they sounded. And I got to a point in my life where if someone was gonna say something mean about it, I was fine with that. I think I just had to get to a point in my life where I was mature enough and confident enough to stand by my music, whether someone likes it or not."

Down in a Hole is set for release on Aug. 19.

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