'The Simpsons': Kiefer Sutherland, 'Top Chef's' Tom Colicchio get animated

Kiefer Sutherland is entering into Albert Brooks territory with his appearance on the season premiere of "The Simpsons."

In the premiere, "The Falcon and the D'Ohman," Sutherland plays Hank, a security guard at the nuclear plant whom Homer befriends and takes to Moe's for a drink. It's the third time he's done voice work for the show, and the third different character he's played -- in his prior appearances he did the voices for an army colonel (2006's "GI (Annoyed Grunt)") and his "24" character, Jack Bauer (2007's "24 Minutes").

That makes him one of the relatively few "Simpsons" guest stars who've appeared more than once and voiced different characters rather than recurring residents of Springfield. Brooks and Jon Lovitz are in the same category, though they've also had recurring parts. So did former semi-regular Phil Hartman, who's most associated with Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz but also played a number of other one-off characters.

Also in the episode, Marge dreams of being a "Top Chef" contestant, and judge Tom Colicchio appears as himself. Take a look:

"The Simpsons" begins its 23rd season on FOX Sunday, Sept. 25.