Oh yes it is! Kiefer Sutherland dives into the world of panto | Kiefer Sutherland

TYears ago, I played a TV series on DVD for the first time. At my mate’s house in a village outside Harrogate, I was glued to Jack Bauer as he worked his way through episode 24. We probably only made it to episode six before we had to fall asleep to go to school the next day.

Fast forward to the beginning of this year, and pictures are appearing all over the local news of Kiefer Sutherland in the nearby market towns of Knaresborough and Wetherby. The real Jack Bauer in Yorkshire! He and Rebel Wilson are in the area making Tinsel Town, a British Christmas film about pantomime. By March, I’m invited to the Leeds studio, where filming is taking place, and find Sutherland dressed as Pattons on stage. His bright eye shadow sparkles as he smiles and dances to Katy Perry’s song with the Cinderella crew. This amazing scene is repeated about 15 times. It’s a surreal, full-circle moment; I expect him to pull a gun on the ugly sisters.

Sutherland is in Paris when I explain the relationship later. “That’s very funny,” the Canadian laughs over the phone. “I ended up loving it; Leeds is a wonderful city.” Locals may have seen him on his weekend stroll around the university, or at the bar where he was filmed. “They had regular customers, and they were really nice.” He also continued his obsession with Greggs sausage rolls, which had started on tour with his band – “it was like the heavens had opened up” – and arranged for the bakers’ van to visit the set. Does he have a gold card? “I did it in one go. It was great, but I didn’t use it. I could have bought my own sausage rolls and baked steak!”

Tinsel Town is a fun family comedy, directed by Chris Foggin (Bank of Dave, Fisherman’s Friends). Sutherland gamely leans into a meta role in this film: Bradley Mack, the washed-up Hollywood action star who believes a stint in the West End will save his career. However, when he arrived in England, he realized that his first appearance on stage would be in a small theatrical production of Cinderella in a northern town called Stonford. “It’s funny to watch his descent into actor’s hell,” Sutherland says. But it’s also poignant, as Bradley realizes he needs to pull himself together for the sake of his nearly estranged daughter. “It’s a lesson for a lot of parents who may actually be children in that relationship. There have definitely been times where I can definitely say the same thing about myself.”

Ultimately, though, this is a very nice call to save the pantomime — and “boo!” To everyone who makes fun of him. The troupe includes theater icons like Derek Jacobi and Meera Syal. “My first glimpse of theater was attending panto performances in a small church group — there was nothing else to do in the village I grew up in,” says Sial, catching her breath in her trailer while filming. “I will never forget the feeling of the lights going down, the music starting, and the actors starting.” She played the fairy mermaid (“obviously”) in a production of Peter Pan at the Birmingham Hippodrome in 2018. “Wearing a fishtail three times a day – you really had to practice your toilet breaks. It’s really hard work. But you get that joy of seeing the kids completely fascinated. It’s very life-affirming.”

The Panto Project not only upholds tradition, but also keeps the arts financially viable. “The proceeds from these pantomimes keep these theaters running all year long,” says Maria Friedman, an eight-time Olivier Award nominee. “I don’t have enough time to tell you how horrified I am about where the arts are — it’s terrifying.” Freedman starred in the 1982 Chester Festivals production of Jack and the Beanstalk with “comedy greats” Frankie Howerd and John Whitfield. In Tinsel Town you play the role of a fairy godmother. Her version of classic panto goodies? “She likes to drink, she likes weed, and she’s always warm. She really feels like she’s in a relationship with Brad.”

Rebel Wilson walks cheerfully onto the set at the end of the day in a green jumpsuit, charming the crew around her. She plays choreographer Jill, who champions the performance from the wings of the stage. And yes, she’s trying to use a Yorkshire accent.

“The Yorkshire accent is tough,” Wilson later admitted to me. “But I tried to do my best!” (Last year, she admitted: “I don’t think my Yorkshire accent is that great.”) Is it her favorite accent? “My classic Yorkshire line was ‘Hiya luv!’.” She got into the local spirit by joining Sutherland in her love of local delicacies: “I can’t go past Greggs’ sausage rolls but I also love their cakes any time of the day.”

Jill helps Bradley embrace theatrical life. “Working with Rebel has been great,” says Sutherland. “Obviously her comedic skills are world-famous, but she also brought a real heart to the film. I don’t want to talk about it, but I think it was exciting for her on that level.” In addition to singing a peppy Christmas song for the first time in a movie (a good use of his country music success), Sutherland shares a northern waltz with Wilson: “It was a little weird for both of us but I think we had fun.”

Wilson is no stranger to pantoland: “I have fond memories of watching pantomimes in Australia as a child. They were at the Returners’ Club and the local Service League – where my relatives fought in the wars. My mum also said that when I was two, she took me to my first pantomime in Sydney. They asked for audience volunteers and I ran on stage and sang a song. I was shocked. I’m usually very shy.”

What was it like working with Hollywood stars in Yorkshire for the rest of the British cast? By all accounts: beautiful. “Kiefer actually told us about a great pie shop [in Wetherby]“The funniest moment was the scene with Mawan,” says Ray Fearon, who plays the Baron [Rizwan] “He’s driving a VW minivan,” adds Lucien Laviscount, who plays Prince Charming. “Kiefer was in the front seat – Mawan hadn’t driven a manual for a few years and he tried to start the car. We’re all in stitches in the back and Kiefer is breathing down his neck saying, ‘More gas!’ More gas! He stopped it about eight times.”

However, the best scene for viewers is undoubtedly the pathetic spat between Sutherland and Danny Dyer, who plays Jill’s troubled ex-man. “Danny, I absolutely adore him,” Sutherland says. “He’s known as a tough guy in his movies; I had 24 in my back pocket. It was like, look, the way it’s going to be funny is that these two guys can’t fight well at all. They’re the worst fighters on the planet but it ended up being one of my favorite fight sequences ever in my career.”

It was a strange moment for Fujin to direct: “Everyone should work with Danny Dyer: the love and enthusiasm he brings is amazing. The two clicked right away. We shot some scenes in [a] Wakefield Theater and between rehearsals they would come out and fight with the stunt coordinator.

Fujin speaks from his home in Hertfordshire via Zoom. Following 2022’s This Is Christmas, Tinsel Town is the second festive film from the Sunderland-born, Durham-raised director. Is he Richard Curtis North? “He’s the reason I want to make films. He’s my role model,” Fujin smiles. “When I think of Christmas, I think of the movie ‘True Love.’ I’ve always wanted to make something — and who knows if it will be that movie — like this: Without looking at the TV listings, no matter what happens, ‘True Love’ always gets reruns at some point over Christmas, and the whole family still gets together to watch it.”

Sutherland was the first choice, says Foggin, and he got the job right away: “He got a lot of… [British] Sensitivities.” It makes sense: he was born in London and his grandparents were Scottish (his Falkirk-born politician grandfather, Tommy Douglas, became the “father of universal health care” in Canada), meaning he’s been back and forth all his life. Wilson, meanwhile, has spent a lot of time in the UK recently. Responding to reports of her move to the Cotswolds, she says she’s still rooted in Los Angeles. “My family and I love London,” she says. “I’ve been involved in UK TV shows like “Slow Horses,” “Downton Abbey” (yes, I know I’m a little late) and “Celebrity Traitors.”

But wait. Sutherland’s transatlantic background makes his earlier revelations all the more shocking: “I’d never seen a panto before. I was so upset. We arrived in the first week of January. I dropped my bags, went for a walk around town, and the first thing I saw was a big poster for the panto. I was so excited: ‘Oh my God, I’m going to see a panto tonight!’ It was a big part of my research. Naturally, it had closed the night before.”

There’s always this year though, right? “I’ll be able to do it.” First, it’s business as usual in Paris: “I’m about to go to a fight rehearsal for this movie I’m making.”

Tinsel Town is showing on Sky Cinema from 5 December.