Kiefer Sutherland: I will always miss Joel Schumacher

Kiefer Sutherland will "miss" Joel Schumacher "until the day [he] dies".

The iconic filmmaker passed away in June this year following a year-long battle with cancer, and actor Kiefer - who starred in five movies made by Joel - has said he will always remember the director.

Recalling their time working together, Kiefer said: "The last time I saw Joel was in New York, maybe not even a year ago. I think that was before he was diagnosed. I never knew that he was sick.

"We made five films together with the first one being 'The Lost Boys'. I remember when I signed on for 'Flatliners'. I thought that we were going to be making a movie that was completely based in reality, certainly visually, and then we would do this extraordinary experiment. Joel had a very different idea.

"At one point, I'm running down the hallway, and I pass the Statue of Liberty's head, but it's small, like 10 feet tall, and I round the corner, and I pass a big metal box with rubber gloves sticking out of it. I'm like, 'What the f*** is that?' Then I run around the other corner, to where we're going to do the big experiment, and there's a stage that looks like Billy Idol is about to do a concert. But instead of Billy Idol, there's a gurney."

Kiefer admitted to having a "panic attack" on the set of the 1990 sci-fi thriller because he thought his career would be ruined, and said it was Joel who calmed him down and told him to "trust" him.

He added: "Basically, I had the closest thing I've ever had to a nervous breakdown. I was like, 'Joel; I can't do this. This is ridiculous.' I was running out of the building, trying to catch my breath, I'm having a panic attack and thinking, 'Oh my God, what have I done?' Joel walks out, he puts his hand on my back and asks if I'm alright. I said, 'I'm so sorry to let you down. I can't do this.' He's patting me on the back, and I'll never forget what he said to me. He said, 'Kiefer. If you don't think every morning I wake up and know that I have your future in my hand, you're out of your mind. You're going to have to trust me.' And I did."

The 53-year-old actor is now "so glad" he put his faith in Joel, and says he will always be "grateful for the opportunities" he received thanks to the filmmaker.

He told Forbes magazine: "I'm so glad that I made that choice because when I went to the screening of 'Flatliners', he was absolutely right. It was so good. It was more than I could ever have hoped for. That was really mine and Joel's relationship. I will forever be grateful for the opportunities that he presented to me, and I will be grateful for the friend that he was to me. I will miss him until the day I die."