Kiefer Sutherland was part of the brat-pack acting group in the 80s

The actor has starred as government agent Jack Bauer for five seasons of the Fox show.

The show was considered groundbreaking when it first aired in 2001 as it was screened in "real time" with one day spread over 24 episodes.

The new deal will see Sutherland paid a reported $40m (�22.9m). He will also be an executive producer of the series.

Sutherland said his past five years on the show was "one of the most creative and rewarding experiences of my career".

Big-screen thriller

The deal will also allow the actor to develop new projects for TV and the internet through his own production company.

Sutherland, who rose to fame in films such as the 1987 teenage vampire film The Lost Boys, also starred in the movie Flatliners with his former fiancee Julia Roberts and in legal drama A Few Good Men.

His performance in 24 won him a Golden Globe award in 2002 and he has also been nominated for four Emmys.

Sutherland's next big-screen outing will be in crime thriller The Sentinel, opposite Michael Douglas and Kim Basinger.

He is also voicing a character in Disney's latest cartoon feature, The Wild, where he plays a lion called Samson.