Should Kiefer Sutherland's acting career ever hit the skids, he can always fall into a job at the Gap with the handy-dandy skills he perfected in prison.

"I did a lot of folding clothes and thinking about what I was doing in there," the gravelly voiced "24" star tells the Times of London of the 48 days he spent in an 8-by-10-foot cell in late 2007/early 2008 after he was nabbed -- again -- for DUI.

Kiefer's booking photo after his second DUI

As for how he adjusted to being behind bars, "I was certainly very aware of who was near me, who was behind me and who was in front of me. I got to do work, which was a good thing," he explains. "But I did spend a lot of time in lock-down, which was a drag, because they couldn't guarantee my safety. So I was in a small cell, sometimes for days at a time."

Sutherland rang in Christmas, New Year's and his 42nd birthday in the slammer, but he says he didn't give in to any woe-is-me-style whining.

"... It was one of those times when you go, 'Well, I can either bitch about the seven or eight weeks, or however long you are there for, or I can think, well, I haven't had a break like this for a while and do some push-ups and learn how to fold [laundry] properly and take some time to think about what you are doing,'" he figures. "And I did those things. Is it somewhere that I plan on going back to? No. But I did try to make the most of it."

Some of his fellow inmates stepped up to show him how to navigate life in the not-so-big house (it was a county jail) "and I really appreciated them for doing that," says Kiefer. "And there were some other guys who weren't as helpful and I know where they live," before adding with a laugh, "Just kidding."

Sutherland, who once tackled a Christmas tree in a pirate-fueled, pie-eyed moment, concedes that getting behind the wheel after downing a few too many was not only avoidable but also "really dumb."

"I keep feeling I should say something more about it. But I made a mistake and I was lucky because people have been really supportive. I don't ever want to make a joke of it," he insists, although he did do a bit of quipping during a recent appearance on David Letterman (it involved gang signs and dropping the soap in the prison shower). "There were people who were upset about it and they had a right to be because it's a dangerous thing to do and I regret it very much."

Adds Kiefer, "I was incredibly cross with myself for it. It was careless and I wasn't thinking. Hopefully that's behind me and I'm moving on. I've never had a traffic accident in my life, but if I did in that situation and I had hurt someone, well, your life is over. It was so stupid."