04.28 | That guy from Desperate Housewives could have been Jack Bauer
Actor Richard Burgi, who played Alan York in the first season of '24', tells TVGuide.com that he was originally cast as Jack Bauer before Kiefer Sutherland:
TVGuide.com: What happened, you got killed off sooner than you would have liked? Burgi: No, no, no. Actually, the producers had wanted me for that show, but the network wanted Kiefer [as the lead], so....TVGuide.com: Having been there on Day 1, could you tell 24 had legs?
Burgi: You know, the same thing happened with Desperate Housewives: I really didn't think anything other than what we were doing was interesting. I liked the 24 script, which is why I was so passionate about it. When Kiefer got the role, [series cocreator] Joel Surnow called me and said, "I'm really sorry. But we'd still like to have you be a part of the show." They offered me the role of Alan York and I said, "Yep! Love it!" And then when I saw where they were going with it, I thought, "This could go either way. It could be really, really dark and taken down a rough road and be on the receiving end of criticism about its content, or it could break new ground."
