'Rabbit Hole' Interview: Kiefer Sutherland Talks New Series

Moviefone speaks with Kiefer Sutherland about 'Rabbit Hole.' "I knew it was something that I wanted to do and I was grateful that they called me first."

Premiering on Paramount+ March 26th is the new spy thriller series ‘Rabbit Hole,’ which was created by ‘Focus’ directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra.

What is the plot of ‘Rabbit Hole?’

In ‘Rabbit Hole,’ John Weir (Kiefer Sutherland), a master of deception in the world of corporate espionage, is framed for murder by powerful forces with the ability to influence and control populations.

Who is in the cast of ‘Rabbit Hole?’

‘Rabbit Hole’ stars Kiefer Sutherland (’24,’ ‘Designated Survivor’), Charles Dance (‘The Golden Child’) as Dr. Ben Wilson, Meta Golding (‘Empire’) as Hailey Winton, Enid Graham (‘Mare of Easttown’) as Josephine “Jo” Madi, Jason Butler Harner (‘Ozark’) as Valence, Walt Klink (‘Arctic Circle’) as The Intern and Rob Yang (‘The Menu’) as Edward Homm.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kiefer Sutherland about his work on ‘Rabbit Hole,’ the new series, his character, working with the writers, and why he wanted to do the show.

Kiefer Sutherland stars on Paramount+'s 'Rabbit Hole.'

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Sutherland, Charles Dance, Meta Golding, Walt Klink, Enid Graham, Rob Yang, and series creators John Requa and Glenn Ficarra.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about returning to the espionage thriller genre after ’24,’ and what was it that Glenn Ficarra and John Requa told you about the series to get you excited about doing it?

Kiefer Sutherland: Well, they referenced movies that I really admired and loved growing up watching as a young person. Those movies were ‘Three Days of the Condor’ with Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman in ‘Marathon Man,’ ‘The Parallax View,’ and ‘The Fugitive.’ So once they told me about that, the thriller is a genre that I love working in, and I'm a huge fan of them as writers and directors. They started describing John Weir as a character, and then the thing they touched on almost out of the gate was that this character would go from being the hunter to the hunted in a matter of moments, and that he was then spending the rest of the series running for his life and trying to prove his innocence. That was a very dynamic shift, and any time you can take someone and make them go 180 degrees in the other direction, it gives an actor a lot of room to work and makes that character very vulnerable. So just in that first discussion, I knew it was something that I really wanted to do and I was grateful that they called me first because I don't think anybody would've said no. I was just thrilled to be a part of it, and when I got the script, I was certainly not let down. I thought it was fantastic and couldn't wait to get started making it. Now I'm finally at a place where I can't wait for people to finally see it. But we're very proud of it.

Kiefer Sutherland as John Weir of the Paramount+ series 'Rabbit Hole.'

Related Article: Kiefer Sutherland Has Political Hopes for 'Designated Survivor'

MF: Did you receive scripts for the entire season, or are you going one script at a time while you're building your character?

KS: We got about half the season up front and then got the other half as we went, which was a lot better than any other experience I've had before because television, normally you're writing as you're working, which makes making the show very complicated. So it was very nice actually to have half of the material in advance. Then they're just really beautiful writers in the sense that they can deliver the plot lines and the big ideas, but they've also got such subtlety and nuance. One of the really nice benefits for me with this character is that he has a sense of humor, finally. So the romantic, kind of sarcastic banter between Meta (Golding), who plays opposite me is just really special. It's also something that I don't normally get asked to do. So it was a lot of fun for me.

MF: Finally, can you talk about John Weir’s background and how he got to the place where we find him at the beginning of this series?

KS: Well, I think he has a number of skills, but I think his understanding of the human psyche is really important. So it allows him to run scams on people that allow them to believe that the market is going in one direction, when in fact it's not. He can manipulate technology so that the truth is what he wants the truth to be, and he uses that to his advantage to help the companies that are employing him. Very quickly in the first episode, that is turned on him and he again goes from the hunter to the hunted and is literally running for his life.