The 57-year-old star enjoyed a great run of success during the first ten years of his career, but Kiefer struggled to cope when the opportunities began to dry up.
The ‘Three Musketeers’ star told The Times newspaper: “I took the films that I did in my twenties for granted.
“For the first ten years of my career, everything was going well. Then all of a sudden, the opportunities went away. It was devastating.
“I was forced to make a decision: I could either make a bunch of bad films, or I could stop for a little while until I got something I wanted to do. So I took some time off.”
Kiefer ultimately decided to take a step back from the entertainment industry.
But, in the early 2000s, he was cast as Jack Bauer in the hit drama series ’24’ and that proved to be a turning point in his career.
He shared: “I roped and rodeo-ed for ten years. I had a small farm in Montana. I absolutely adored roping. Then ’24’ happened and I became immersed in that for another decade.”
Kiefer remembers being in a “hurry to grow up” during his younger years. But the movie star now looks back at his life with some regrets.
He explained: “I was in a hurry to grow up.
“I certainly wish I hadn’t taken the car [he stole a car when he was a teenager]. That was just me wanting to drive and feel older.
“There are things I wish I had done differently, but I’m grateful for some of the things I had the courage to do.
“When I left home it was the first time that teenagers were playing teenagers on screen, so I did that at the right time.”
