The battle is on between "24" leading man Kiefer Sutherland and Freddie Prinze, Jr.

Recently, Prinze Jr. lashed out against Jack Bauer, the lead character of "24," calling him "the most unprofessional dude in the world." This was following the appearance of the former on the eighth season of Fox's show wherein he worked with Sutherland.

In an interview with ABC News, Prinze Jr. openly shared his qualms about the actor. He even claimed that his experience was so bad that he almost wanted to quit his acting career.

"I did '24,' it was terrible. I hated every minute of it. I just wanted to quit the business after that. Kiefer was the most unprofessional dude in the world. That's not me talking trash, I'd say it to his face. I think everyone that's worked with him has said that," said Prinze Jr.

Meanwhile, actor Louis Lombardi came to Sutherland's defense. Lombardi has also worked with Sutherland on "24."

According to US Weekly, Lombardi revealed that his experience was contrary to Freddie's. He is baffled with the comments of Prinze, Jr. as he regarded Kiefer as one of the most professional actors he had ever worked with.

"He wanted the best out of everybody. I have nothing but great experiences with him. He's a gentleman," shared Lombardi.

He added, "Maybe he was jealous, maybe Kiefer did something to him-who knows?"

A Fox official also told TMZ that it is strange that Freddie is making the comments now, five years later after the two had worked together. He added that they would have not done another episode if Kiefer was anything like Freddie.

Kiefer, on his part, released a statement on the issue through his representative.

"Kiefer worked with Freddie Prinze Jr. more than five years ago, and this is the first he has heard of Freddie's grievances. Kiefer enjoyed working with Freddie and wishes him the best," the statement reads.