Jack Bauer - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Having won an Emmy Award (with 5 other nominations), a Golden Globe (with 4 other nominations), two SAG Awards (with 3 other nominations) and two Satellite Awards, Kiefer Sutherland's performance as Jack Bauer became (award-wise) the second most acclaimed Male Lead Dramatic TV performance of the 2000s behind only James Gandolfini (with 3 Emmys, 1 Golden Globe and 3 SAG Awards). He is also the only Male Lead Drama TV Actor ever to have won all 4 awards.

Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "When Kiefer Sutherland's 24 superagent barks "Dammit, Chloe—we're running out of time!" America's ass is about to be saved in some new, heart-stopping way."

American politicians and lawyers have taken to using Jack Bauer and his actions to frame the debate on American interrogation techniques (in this case, "torture"), which have become an object of intense controversy.

For example, at a legal conference in Ottawa, Canada, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia took offense at a Canadian judge's remark that Canada did not consider what Jack Bauer would do when setting policy. Scalia shot back: "Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles.... He saved hundreds of thousands of lives... Are you going to convict Jack Bauer? Say that criminal law is against him? 'You have the right to a jury trial?' Is any jury going to convict Jack Bauer? I don't think so."