Kiefer Sutherland on Touch: "My Son Is Taking Me on a Journey to Put the Thread Back Together"

On January 23, 2012, FOX held a press call with Kiefer Sutherland ahead of the special preview of Touch, airing Wednesday, January 25th after American Idol at 9/8 Central. Sutherland stars as Martin Bohm, a widowed father whose son Jake — initially misdiagnosed with severe autism — turns out to be a profoundly evolved human being who communicates through numbers. Sutherland talked about why he returned to television so quickly after 24, the Chinese fable at the heart of the show, what he found in young co-star David Mazouz that 25 other kids couldn't match, and how Martin Bohm is both completely different from Jack Bauer and exactly the same. Premier Guide Miami was among the outlets on the call.

My son is taking me on a journey to try and put the thread back together.

Why he came back to television — and why he almost didn't

Sutherland was candid about his initial reluctance. He was doing a Broadway play in New York, had a film lined up, and wasn't ready to return to television. He read the Touch script "almost reluctantly." Then, around page 30: "I remember going, 'Oh, ...' — or I guess something you could print — which I just knew I would be so remiss if I didn't take the opportunity that Touch was." The deciding moment came while crossing a street in New York: "I remember saying to the person I work with, if we don't do this, how are we going to feel in September watching it knowing all of its potential and how great we both think it can be. And that answered my question for me. I didn't want to be sitting there watching this fantastic show in September if I had had the opportunity to be a part of it." He acknowledged the weight of following 24: "It's nice to have that in your pocket and let it be, but this was certainly something I just couldn't say no to."

Jack Bauer and Martin Bohm — the same man, different circumstances

Sutherland identified a through line between his two most prominent characters that surprised even him: "Obviously this is very different than 24. Yet there is a real similar through line in the kind of character of the man. Jack Bauer would be faced with unbelievable circumstances in the course of a day and he would never win completely. And this guy is never going to win either. He's never going to have the quintessential relationship of a father and a son. And yet he perseveres." He also connected Martin to his own experience as a parent: "During Camelia's pregnancy, for nine months I'd have these great fantasies of how I was going to be the greatest dad on the planet. And then she was born and a kind of fear came over me like none other that I've ever had in my life. I was confronted with the fact that I really didn't know what I was doing and it was something that I was going to have to figure out as I went. I really relate to Martin on that level."

The red thread — and the show's premise

Sutherland explained the Chinese fable that anchors the series: "The red thread is basically a red thread that is loosely looped around the ankles of all the people that are supposed to come in contact with each other over the course of a lifetime. This thread can stretch and it can bend, but it cannot break, and somehow in our society we have broken this and my son is taking me on a journey to try and put the thread back together." He described Jake's condition: "We discover Martin has a son named Jake who has been misdiagnosed with severe autism and in fact is actually just a truly, truly evolved human being that is years and years beyond where my character is and our society is at." On genre: "At its heart it's a drama. There is an element of science fiction, certainly an aspect I would categorize as a thriller or suspense. But the journey of a father trying to connect with his son will always be at the heart of the show."

Finding David Mazouz — and why the first kid was always the right kid

Sutherland read with approximately 25 to 30 young actors for the role of Jake. The first one he read with was David Mazouz. "I remember thinking, wow, this kid is amazing. If the other kids are going to be like this, we're going to find an amazing kid." Around the tenth kid, he was still thinking about the first. Around the twentieth: still the first. "I was finally like, would you guys just please hire the first kid. He was just amazing." He described what Mazouz does that can't be taught: "He has very limited physical response to anything that I do. He doesn't talk and yet I can feel his presence even if he's not looking at me. I can always sense that he's listening and I think that comes across to the viewer as well. That's a real gift." Touch special preview aired Wednesday, January 25, 2012, on FOX after American Idol. The series premiered March 22, 2012.

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