Kiefer Sutherland on his band and 'Designated Survivor'

Kiefer Sutherland is juggling an acting and music career.

June 21, 2019, 5:43 PM

Kiefer Sutherland is juggling an acting and music career.

The Emmy-winning actor's political drama, "Designated Survivor," is back for a new season, and his band, the Kiefer Sutherland Band, is as busy as ever. Sutherland has found a way to keep both trains moving.

"I was trying to find the common denominator to explain to people that it's not such a large step to do both," Sutherland told ABC News. "And the truth is what I've always loved about acting and 'Designated Survivor' is a perfect example — it's getting together with a cast and a director and writers and figuring out what's the best way to tell this story."

Kiefer Sutherland in a scene from "Designated Survivor."
Netflix

He added, "Music for me is the same thing. I'll write a song, take it to the band, [and say], 'What's the best way to play this? What's the best way to kind of tell this story to an audience? So even though the facilities that are required to tell the stories are very different, the motivation from one's heart is very similar."

Sutherland's "Designated Survivor" was picked up for it's third season this year by Netflix. He plays the role of a lower-level cabinet member who becomes president after an attack wipes out the lives of every higher political office holder. In a recent appearance on "Popcorn with Peter Travers," he talked about what fans can expect to see this season.

Kiefer Sutherland appears on "Popcorn with Peter Travers" at ABC News studios, May 9, 2019, in New York City.
Emilie Richardson/ABC News

"What I find so interesting about this season is that for the first two seasons, he was an unwilling participant as president of the United States," Sutherland, 52, told Travers. "And so we kind of examine what a life in politics and that kind of power of the presidency, will that corrupt a man? Will that take a good man and make him bad, just by what the office is? Now he's actually seeking re-election. And as far as I'm concerned, that puts one strike against you because you're going after that kind of power."

Download the all new "Popcorn With Peter Travers" podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Tunein, Google Play Music and Stitcher.

Watch the full interview with Peter Travers Kiefer Sutherland in the video above.

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