Hollywood veteran Donald Sutherland was forced to turn down the chance of playing real life son Kiefer's fictional dad in hit TV show 24 - because he was too busy. The actor was tied up working on new movie Fool's Gold when Kiefer approached him about the role, which ultimately went to Babe star James Cromwell.

However, "sad" Donald desperately tried to pave a way for him to portray the father of Kiefer's counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer at a later date - by making a far-fetched plot proposal.

The 72-year-old - an avid viewer of the action series - says, "He asked me to play his father but I couldn't because I was doing (Fool's Gold). That was sad. When it turned out I couldn't do it, I said to Kiefer, 'Why don't you have it turn out that James is your stepfather? And then I come in..."

-Check out Donald Sutherland's Filmography

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)