Sons of Anarchy makes its much anticipated return to the airwaves on Tuesday, September 10th, but the cast and creators of the hit FX series were on hand at San Diego Comic Con to talk about the explosive events of Season Five, and what to expect as the show enters its penultimate season.
For highlights from our exclusive interview with the cast, check out the video above (footage from Sons of Anarchy comes courtesy of FX Networks). If you’re looking to get even more in depth, keep reading for the full transcripts.
Kim Coates (“Tig”)
Tig had one of the most emotional storylines of any character in Season Five. What was it like to get into some of those dark places?
It was some of the most incredible deepness of homework I’ve ever had to do. I had a really close friend, Sam Elliot Brando – he’s a doctor, he’s a shrink, he’s a really close friend of mine. I went to him with a lot of stuff, of internal happenings in the human body – what happens in fleet or fight, adrenaline or shock or crying, the whole deal. He helped me out a lot with the arcs of that, especially that very first episode, watching my daughter die the way she did.
And then the finale, right? The bookends that Sutter wrote for Tig, with Jax throwing him down the river like that. Am I gonna get killed? Is Pope gonna kill me? It didn’t quite work out that way for Pope, but it worked out good for Tig.
How far in advance are you informed of what’s in store for your character?
When there’s a big arc that needs to be discussed, Sutter and his team are very good about letting us know what might be coming down the pipeline. We’re given the scripts two or three in advance, and it gets a little bit less as the season goes on, but we love and can’t wait to read every single one of them.
After everything Tig went through last year, can we expect an easier ride for him in Season Six?
I don’t know, that’s a great question. There’s ten leads on this show and we’ve got some great guest stars. It’s tough to write for everybody all the time for Kurt. Tig seemed to have a pretty big Season One, Season Three, Season Five, and Two and Four not so much. This is Six, so maybe this is a not so much year, but it’s always fun to play this guy. I love playing Tig, I really do, and it’ll be this season and one more to go, and that’ll be it. I look forward to bringing it to a final closure and having fun along the way.
With Season Seven being the end of the line, are you guys working toward an endgame?
I think Kurt is, right? I think that’s what makes him a brilliant writer, he’s had this Bible of Sons of Anarchy since Day One. And to see it come to fruition and to become such a big hit that it is… only he knows what’s really inside his head to finish this thing off. But in the meantime, this season I’m sure will be bigger than the last, which was bigger than Four, which was bigger than Three. I think the fans are gonna be blown away and in shock with some of the stuff they’re about to see this year.”
Tommy Flanagan (“Chibs”)
What can we expect from Chibs in the next season?
Him and Jax become very, very close. You know, it’s always difficult to talk about the show because if I say one thing, I’m going to spoil the show. But there’s so much going on this year, it’s very dark, it’s very, very violent, and the storylines are…. wow, they’re incredible. But as far as me and Jax go, he’s like my baby brother, I love him… I become someone else on the show.
Can you tell us about some of the guest stars that are lined up for Season Six?
Jimmy Smits is incredible, I love Jimmy, he’s fantastic. We have Jimmy Smits, we have a lot of guest stars, but all I can say is Jimmy Smits is the shit. The rest are, you know, whatever… they’re not bad, they’re great, but I love Jimmy.
Has Kurt given you any idea what to look forward to as he works toward bringing Sons of Anarchy to an end?
I don’t know what’s happening tomorrow! Are you crazy? I don’t know nothing. That’s the thing with Kurt… you’ve got your script, but you get it like the day before and you’re actually living that life, so it’s from minute to minute. We film the show in the same kind of way, we don’t really know what’s going on, it just happens like that. Which is kind of great for an actor because it brings spontaneity to it.
Katey Sagal (“Gemma”)
With Gemma betraying Clay at the end of Season Five, will she struggle with any internal conflict in the next season?
She severed her relationship with her husband, and I think she has conflicting feelings about it. However, I don’t think there’s a lot of room for regret in the world that they live in, and she’s kind of swept up in her relationship now with Nero. So I think that she’s one of these people that can compartmentalize and like, you know, you’re just gone. It’s one of the challenges of playing someone like her, because her instincts are somewhat similar to mind but her actions are completely different. So I think she’s shut him out, I think she really was able to put Clay there, and that’s where he is. And now she’s had her grandchildren for a couple days – that’s all there is between Season Five and Six by the way, it’s not like Tara’s gone for a very long time, or in jail as far as we know – so that will all get sorted out.
How enjoyable is it to play such an intelligent and complicated character?
So much fun. Not to mention, it’s fun to shoot a gun. I’m a complete gun hater, but there’s something… I sort of understood the power of what people must feel with that, because it’s fun to play that kind of person, that carries that gun on her as a protection mechanism. She lives in a world where somebody could shoot her, so that’s why… really, it’s fascinating. It’s been really, really a stretch for me. Every season there’s something that stretches me. It’s awesome.
Do you think Gemma wants to see Jax become more like Clay, or more like his father?
I think growing into his own person is fine with her, as long as he stays with the club. She’s all about keeping her world the way her world is, and I’m sure now with Clay out of the picture and farther away, she’s really looking to him to carry on the legacy of the Sons of Anarchy. She’s not in any way looking for it to change.
Ron Perlman (“Clay”)
After Gemma’s betrayal, what sort of headspace will we find Clay in as Season Six begins?
He’s waiting to see what happens, and while he’s waiting he’s deciding… I think his headspace is “I don’t know how many more minutes I have left, much less days or months or years.” Because he’s got a five million dollar price on his head and he knows in the setting that he’s in, which is in jail, what guys are willing to do to collect on that bounty. He’s trying to probably make decisions that will affect the degree to how in order he can put his house, his own personal house – not his possessions, not his relationships, but his sort of spiritual standing in the eyes of the Lord, maybe.
Despite their differences, it’s obvious that Clay still harbors a deep affection for Jax. How have you and Charlie constructed that relationship over the years?
It’s very, very tricky, because we’re not privy to where we’re ever going. We’re going there one step at a time, whereas the guy who’s writing it is many, many, many steps ahead of us. In fact, I really kind of feel that from the beginning he kind of knew where this whole thing was gonna end up, but he’d never share that with any of us, so a lot of it is guesswork. You have to make decision, because that’s the nature of drama, you have to commit to things in a very positive way, and you have to make decisions about how you feel about people and things in the world you’re in.
My decision, aside from the circumstantial, with Jax was like you say, affection. I really loved the kid and saw this amazing potential for him to be a great Son of Anarchy, and I also saw that if he became his father’s son, he was gonna be a help to no one. And then, of course, the circumstances are the things that ultimately drove a wedge into our relationship. He ends up hating me, but I don’t think I ever end up hating him.
Theo Rossi (“Juice”)
What’s the deal with Juice? Why is this guy always keeping secrets?
Because he put himself in an awful position, and all out of the goodness of his heart. [laughs] This whole journey started where he was just trying to do the right thing, and it backfired – horrendously, by the way. And now it ended in Season Five with him setting up the one person he was having a real relationship with, and that he looked up to and that he trusted. And now, to do that and to see the outcome of that is amazing.
We actually get to see a whole other side to this character, and I’ve been lucky enough to play so many of those sides already. So to see a whole other side? I’m really lucky with what Kurt writes for me and I’m really excited for everybody to see this season.
What kind of repercussions will there be for Juice and his involvement in putting Clay away?
God, I can’t answer anything. It’s the whole thing, that’s all of it: seeing how this all affects him, seeing how he navigates in this, seeing how it all plays out for him is all due to exactly what you just said. I feel like everybody at one point or another has a breaking point, and that’s kind of what occurs.
Do you have any idea where Juice will be by the time Sons of Anarchy comes to an end?
I just kinda take it as it comes. I learned a long time ago that this character… you know, I always find it funny when actors say “my character” because it’s not necessarily your character, your character is on loan from Kurt’s brain. I trust him more than any writer I’ve ever worked with. Whatever he has in store is fantastic. I’m an enormous fan of The Shield and I thought that was one of the best series finales I’ve ever seen in my life, so I’m pretty confident when we do go out, hopefully like in Season Twenty-Six, whatever happens with Juice will be the way it’s supposed to be.
Maggie Siff (“Tara”)
Season Six begins with Tara in jail. Will she be out for revenge this season?
She’s sort of out… she’s out for figuring out what the hell’s going on and who put her there. I won’t say Tara’s deep motivation for this year is revenge. I think she’s pretty focused on her children this season, and what she needs to do to protect them. I think she’s decided that it’s not about her anymore, and that’s sort of where we find her.
We’ve been told that there are dark times ahead for some of the characters? Does that include Tara, or is it limited to the club members?
Oh no, it’s dark all around. Dark all around.
Going back to the early days of the show, Tara always viewed Gemma as the icon of what she didn’t want to become, yet we’ve seen Tara make choices that feel like choices Gemma would have made. Do you think Tara realizes that she’s becoming more like Gemma all the time?
I think she realizes that. I think she’s realized that in order… she made the decision to be there, so now the question is “what do you need to do to survive in that world?” And I think the longer she hangs out there, the more she realizes that she needs to adopt some of the tactics of Gemma, the less savory aspects of her, just to survive. I think she’s aware of it. I think that she always wants really different things than Gemma wants, and that’s how justifies it in her mind. It’s all about the ends justifying the means.
Kurt Sutter (creator)
When you have a long-term story arc for a character, do you try to let them know beforehand, or do you tend to feed them a little bit at a time?
I do with some of the actors. I’ll usually have a meeting with Charlie prior to the time we start shooting, and I’ll give him sort of a heads-up where the season is going. Obviously if there’s a big arc for an actor, I’ll have a conversation with them so they can sort of wrap their brains around it emotionally. Like I talked to Kim Coates last year, letting him know the arc we were gonna do with him and his daughter. Those are the things you don’t want an actor to just get the script and only have a week or whatever to prepare for it. So if there’s big arcs, I try to bring everybody into the loop and let them know what’s going on.
Do you make it a point to keep the show dark, or is that something that happens more organically?
I just think it’s where the show is at. We’ve set this trajectory on the show in terms of what’s going on, and relationships and emotionally what’s happening, and I think it’s just sort of on this path and that’s what it is. So it’s not like I set out and go “Okay, how can I make things more fucked up than they have been in the past?” But I feel like organically, that’s where it’s all going. So it’s not my goal to make it that dark.
With the show drawing to a close next year, are you starting to work toward the endgame?
I think we’re always moving toward some kind of endgame, this season more so than ever, I think. My goal is still to finish it up in seven, so more so than ever I’m writing toward that this year, and ratcheting stuff up a little bit.
There’s been talk of doing a Sons of Anarchy prequel. Is that something you would move into right away?
I don’t think so. I’ve had conversations with John Landgraf about that, the president that runs our network, and I think we both agree that to jump into it right on the heels of Sons would not honor either show. Meaning that I think I’d wanna give people some downtime away from Sons to digest it, and in the same way, I’d want to honor something new by giving it some breathing room, so it could feel like… so it could be its own thing. So if we did do it, I think we would wait probably at least two seasons before we rebooted something and did the prequel.
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Sons of Anarchy begins its sixth season on Tuesday, September 10th, exclusively on FX.