Karen Hayes

Karen Hayes
24 character
Jayne Atkinson as Karen Hayes
First appearance	Day 5 – Episode 13
Last appearance	Day 6 – Episode 24
Portrayed by	Jayne Atkinson
Days	5, 6
Information
Spouse(s)	Bill Buchanan

Karen Hayes is a fictional character on the television program 24 portrayed by actress Jayne Atkinson. She appeared as a recurring character in twelve episodes of the fifth season and a main cast member in eighteen episodes of the sixth season.

Actress Laurie Metcalf was originally cast as Karen Hayes before being replaced by Jayne Atkinson. Producer Howard Gordon praised Metcalf's acting abilities, but said "the role was not the right fit for the actress" and they mutually agreed to recast the part.

Before joining the United States Department of Homeland Security, Hayes was an FBI agent. She worked within the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, eventually becoming Senior Agent and later a Special Agent in Charge.

Hayes has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Princeton University. Atkinson says that her character is cautious especially when it comes to "civil liberties and profiling a certain population."

Hayes is the Division Director of the United States Department of Homeland Security's Los Angeles branch at the time of Day 5. Vice President Hal Gardner authorizes her to absorb and essentially replace the workers at CTU - Los Angeles after a major terrorist attack leaves many of CTU's original employees dead. Hayes takes operational control of CTU. She decides to keep the survivors on staff until the crisis is over, against the advice of her assistant Miles Papazian. After the nerve gas is secured, Hayes vouches for CTU, but is ordered by the Vice President to fire them and fully absorb CTU into Homeland.

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Wikipedia