Conversation: Kiefer Sutherland

LOS ANGELES -- Kiefer Sutherland's voice may be the most recognizable in the world, minus James Earl Jones and, of course, Sutherland's father Donald.

So when he expressed his affection for IMAX films to the folks at Warner Bros., they jumped at the chance to secure him as the narrator for NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience.

His response?

Absolutely.

Sutherland, a Golden Globe and Emmy award-nominated actor and the current star of Fox network's acclaimed drama "24," directs fans through the breakthrough film with his signature soothing tone that uniquely contrasts with the roar of 700 horsepower engines.

	Sutherland walks the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere. Credit: Getty Images

Prior to the movie's premiere last week at Universal City in Los Angeles, Sutherland sat down for a chat with NASCAR.COM senior writer Marty Smith to talk cars and stars, and above all else his appreciation for where NASCAR began, and what it's become.

First, tell me how you got aligned with this project. How did that come together?

Sutherland: I'm a huge fan of IMAX films. The first IMAX film I ever saw, I think it must have been 15 years ago... was a series of short vignettes -- one of a snowmobile, one of a merry-go-round, one of a roller coaster.

And the sheer technological ground that they were breaking, the size of the screen, the incredible power of the sound, made the experience of movie watching viscerally exciting.

You just couldn't get around it. And as IMAX films have developed, they've actually started to tell stories and become amazing, amazing works of art and technical achievement. I've expressed that to certain people that work in that area, and I do voiceover work, and Warner Bros. was doing the NASCAR film and I said, "Well that's amazing," because, talk about two things that work perfectly together. The visceral response to driving -- the speed, the sound of those engines when they're full-out...

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There was so much about NASCAR that I didn't know about that they had put in the movie. They talk about the history of it being born out of prohibition and guys out-running the law...

Wonderful, ain't it?

Sutherland: Absolutely! It doesn't get cooler than that! Then you've got Bill France's incredible stewardship of NASCAR and the building of the Daytona 500, and watching this sport grow from a grass roots level and explode to what it's become today. Combine with this fantastic racing footage, and I got very excited about being involved with it, and they were kind enough to let me do it.

You seem to have educated yourself pretty well about the sport. Did you know about it at all before you got involved with IMAX and NASCAR?

Sutherland: A little bit, but I didn't know about it on that level. I had a friend -- I did watch racing -- but I had a friend named Danny Sullivan who ran Indy cars. I met him through another friend. And this, again, was like 15, 16 years ago, and I watched him spin-and-win the (Indianapolis) 500 that year.

Often, the Indy car racing would happen, then two hours later they'd have a NASCAR race and I'd watch that, just because I got into racing. But I didn't know a whole lot about it.

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The more I understood about the history of it -- again, another thing I find, quite actually, funny, NASCAR drivers and NASCAR racing always have had this underdog quality.

A) I think it's because the drivers aren't as flashy. They're down-to-earth guys. There's a sensibility that if you're a really good driver and have a really good mechanic, you can go out and get sponsorship and get on the track, as opposed to Formula One, where if you don't have $20 million, forget about it.

That's conservative, man.

Sutherland: Oh yeah. And trust me, you need a lot more than a good driver and mechanic to get on a NASCAR track. But there is a perception, because it's so kind of down-to-earth and casual about it, that you can do that.

I think it allows an audience and a fan to somehow become more involved -- that they've got a shot at it somehow.

Before this project, how many NASCAR drivers could you name?

Sutherland: Ummm. Three or four.

How about now?

Sutherland: Ummm. A lot more than that.

Have you had the chance to interact with any of the guys, yet, or meet them?

Sutherland: Well, I got very lucky. I got to start the presentation of the awards at the NASCAR end-of-the-season awards dinner. So I met a bunch of guys there in a real hurry, and unfortunately I was shooting "24," and the snow was coming down -- it was the worst snow I think New York had had in like five years...

Yeah, I know all about that. I had to carry my wife to the banquet from our hotel.

	Sutherland checks out a stock car as fans look on at the 'NASCAR 3D' movie premiere. Credit: Getty Images

Sutherland: Really (laughing)? Aww man, I was so bummed out because I had to get back on a plane and go straight back to L.A. because I had to start shooting. I heard the lads had a wild night.

I missed it, so hopefully we can make up for some lost time tonight. So, yeah, I got to talk to some of them. Just the nicest guys. That's what really took me aback, was that these guys can't go from an airport to a racetrack without a huge police escort and protection, really only because the fans love them so much. And here I could have just been sitting with a guy I met in a corner bar.

That was the one thing I loved about the history of the sport, of its genesis and the way Bill France approached building it as a sport. That legacy, I think, has stayed true.

How do you think their celebrity compares to yours? And I mean well-known actors.

Sutherland: It's different. I've been doing this for 20 years, made 40 films, and no one ever put my name on the bumper of their car. Average car's worth $30,000, and you're going to mark it up with a sticker of your guy? That's a pretty serious fan. No one ever came in a Winnebago and parked on my lawn to watch me work.

It's a different kind of thing. I've got friends from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia -- they plan all year around going to a couple races. I don't think anyone's planning a whole year for me for nothing.

We're famous around the world because we constantly show a product, and people watch our films because they're entertaining. I think there's a very different thing that the race fan feels for their driver. It's personal. It's like family.

That, again, and NASCAR specifically -- I didn't realize the degree to which it's a family sport, that people's entire basements are converted, involving children to the adults to the grandparents, centered around a specific driver or even two or three drivers per family.

That's a cultural phenomenon. That's pretty cool.

Have you gotten the chance to get to the racetrack yet?

Sutherland: I have not. I've been invited to go to Daytona and I'm really doing everything I can to make sure I can do that.

I'd be interested to find out, once you do (go to the track), to see how you view the film, as far as the realistic aspect. You were discussing the banquet. When we were up there in December they showed us the trailer, and we do this 40 weeks a year, so we get pretty jaded at times. But I was blown away.

Sutherland: Wait 'til you see this. They've got a couple things in it that will blow your mind. That, again, is what I love about the film.

For someone like myself, who is learning about NASCAR, it gives you everything you need to know to get hooked into it. But for the avid race fan, there's just stuff in here that they'll go nuts for.

Now, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that Jeff Gordon is your man, considering he's No. 24.

Sutherland: No. 24! Actually, it's funny, Jeff Gordon, three or four years ago, it seemed like if he went on the track, he won. He was the first driver that I started actually flicking on a race to go watch and see if he could do it again. He just had one of those banner years. And he was one of the first guys that got me watching. So, yeah, 24. I'll go with that.

If a NASCAR movie was made, like, with you guys, a true plot movie with celebrities playing these guys, what actors would make good racecar drivers?

Sutherland: I always thought Tom Cruise did a really good job, but then he does race cars. Paul Newman, obviously races cars. I think Russell Crowe has that competitive edge, and he likes to fight a bit, so he'd make a good driver. That's a good bunch right there.