Kiefer Sutherland morphs from Jack Bauer to Yosemite Sam for animated role

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Kiefer Sutherland knows his acting limitations.

He's comfortable stepping into heavy dramatic roles, as in the feature films "Mirrors" or "The Sentinel." And his tougher-than-torture character of Jack Bauer on the Fox series "24" has almost become a second skin.

When it comes to being funny, Sutherland is painfully aware he can't create laughs on his own, which is why he will only tackle comedy through animated roles. Case in point: "Monsters vs. Aliens," which opens Friday.

"All of us can be funny at a dinner party. But the gift of timing and the training of the great comedians is a real talent," says Sutherland during an interview at the Four Seasons Hotel. His promotional stop here is the latest in a series of visits around the globe by the 42-year-old Canadian actor to promote the new animated feature.

"Comedy is not something innate in me. I don't have that kind of gift. And, to my own detriment, I get quite self-conscious quite quickly, which a comedian cannot have."

Though dramatic roles feel more natural to Sutherland, he enjoys getting the chance to show his funny side through animated work because there's no pressure. He knows his voice work can be re-recorded until it is just right to make the audience laugh.

In "Monsters vs. Aliens," Sutherland portrays the character Gen. W.R. Monger. The voice he supplies for the no-nonsense military leader sounds like a mix of R. Lee Ermey's drill sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket" and the rootin' tootin' cartoon hombre Yosemite Sam.

Monger's the gatekeeper for a motley crew of monsters voiced by the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie and Will Arnett. The Patton-ish general must call on his oddball charges to help save the world from an alien invasion.

Previously, Sutherland's been heard in television shows "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons," plus the feature film "The Wild." He's even gone behind the microphone to help give voice to the video game "Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight."

Until "Monsters vs. Aliens," Sutherland's voices all sounded like Sutherland.

"Almost all of the animated stuff I have done before, they had always wanted my voice to sound like my voice," Sutherland says. "They wanted it to be recognizable. When I came in to do this, I told them I had this idea for the voice of the character."

He admits the inspiration for the voice came from his favorite cartoon character, Yosemite Sam.

Whether the role calls for only his voice or all of him, Sutherland picks parts he wants to play using the same yardstick: The story must affect him. That's because movies have done so since he was a youngster. He knew he wanted to be an actor the first time he saw the animated classic "Bambi."

"As much as I cried at the end of the film, I was just amazed at how much I felt. So animated movies were the doorway to this genre of entertainment I fell in love with," Sutherland says.

What he specifically liked about "Monsters vs. Aliens" was that it was geared to young people with a message that it's all right to be different.

"It was not only all right to be different, but the thing that about you that might make you feel uncomfortable or weird might be your greatest quality," Sutherland says.

Most of Sutherland's life these days is devoted to "24," which will continue for at least another season. There has been talk of a theatrical film version, but fans will have to wait.

"We thought it would be kind of cruel and unusual punishment to ask these writers to write the equivalent of 12 films a year and then say, 'By the way, in your off time come up with an unbelievable idea that is so superb we could justify making a feature film out of it.' We collectively decided that when this show was finished, then we would take on _ if anybody still wanted to see it _ the idea of making a movie," Sutherland says.

And speaking of "24," if the world were threatened by creatures from outer space, it would only make sense that Jack Bauer would be the one to try to save the day.

At the notion of such a scenario, Sutherland smiles and says: "I think Jack Bauer would be the first person the aliens took out."

After another pause, he adds, "But he would figure out how to be back for the sequel."

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© 2009, The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.).