Kiefer Sutherland commands a Black Ops team in the new film The Contractor, which features Chris Pine and Ben Foster as members of his covert ranks.
Their assignment takes Pine’s Sergeant James Harper deep undercover on a mission involving a potentially lethal virus…an all-too familiar scenario, even though it was filmed pre-pandemic.
“The signs were coming,” Sutherland tells ABC Audio. “We had been warned about a virus for the last 15 years. I think it’s very sad when writers using their imagination, taking current events and kind of going, ‘Well, this is the worst circumstance/scenario that could possibly happen so I’ll write it in that direction,’ and then having it come true.”
The movie also shines a light on conditions facing soldiers returning home from battle. Pine’s character is damaged, suffering both the physical and mental traumas of war.
“Regardless of how strong these people are, how well trained they are, they become emotionally, incredibly vulnerable,” Sutherland says, adding that more work needs to be done to help veterans.
“This has been an ongoing discussion since World War I,” Sutherland adds. “As a society, we need to do more for our veterans to deal with PTSD and all of the shell shock, all of the different kind of nomenclatures that we have for…these issues. We need to try and do better.”
The Contractor is in theaters and on-demand now.
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