Kiefer Sutherland has revealed that he had initially planned to turn down the lead role in upcoming political thriller 'Designated Survivor'.
The 49 year old actor confessed he had "no intention of doing a television show," when the project was first brought to him felt he needed to give the script a cursory read and explain why he could not accept the role.
"I remember getting to the end of the script and thinking I was potentially holding the next 10 years of my life in my hands," he said, adding that the script was "so beautifully structured."
"It had the thriller aspect, a family drama, and then it also allowed itself on a political level to [trigger] discussions that I think we need to have in a rational way," he said.
'Designated Survivor' producer, Jon Harmon Feldman revealed at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that the upcoming series would channel several tones.
"There is a West Wing component of a man and his team governing our nation in this time. There's also the Homeland aspect of an investigation and the conspiracy. And it's also got a House of Cards component, which is the characters and the business of government through the eyes of these characters and political dealings and dealmakers."
Kiefer Sutherland is set to play a low-key HUD secretary who becomes President of United States following a catastrophic attack on Washington, D.C.
'Designated Survivor' will premiere on September 21 on ABC.