I had the chance to talk to Katey Sagal and Ron Pearlman for Sons of Anarchy, the new series on FX starting tonight at 10PM ET/PT. Sons of Anarchy is a drama that explores an outlaw motorcycle club's desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring their little town stays safe and charming. I've seen the first two episodes already and I really think that this is the next big break out show. It's really dark, but it keeps you glued the whole time. In support of the show Ron Pearlman and Katey Segal took some time out of their day to talk to me. (*note: the interviews were conducted separately and then put together...background infor: Katey: Gemma, Ron: Clay)
Here's the interview:
Nads: Ron, how did you come into this part?
Ron: Kurt Sutter asked to have lunch with me and told me that they were interested in exploring the idea of me playing Clay and that I was going to have to audition for the network, and so I did and here we are.
Katey: When my husband came to me and said he had written me a part, he didn't actually tell me what the part was. I knew that he was writing a show in the world of outlaw motorcycle clubs and I knew she was the mother of the lead character, but that was all I really knew. I don't know that it was necessarily inspired by me, but when he says that he sort of tailor made it to me, I'm not quite sure what he meant by that.
Once you see her, you'll kind of think, "Huh?" Gemma is a fiercely loyal mother not only to her son, but also to her sort of family of club members. They're kind of this counter-culture group, and she is the matriarch of that group. In my personal life, I'm a pretty fiercely loyal mother, but I don't practice the same ways and means as Gemma does.
Nads: Ron, What do you think about the writing of the show?
Ron: It's incredibly smart, very, very, very vivid, completely ungratuitous for a show's that as hardcore and violent and explosive and radical behavior, these are not your average conservative Republicans, these guys are ruthless and badass. And the way it's depicted is very organic, which you could only do if you're a brilliant screenwriter, as Kurt Sutter is, and as an actor you know you're always going to be supported by--you're never going to be made to look gratuitous or silly because everything is incredibly well supported in a very organic and very brilliant way.
Nads: Katey, can you tell me a little bit about what we can expect from Gemma as the series goes on?
Katey: Yes, she's all that. She's vicious. She's ferocious. She's a hard ass. I look at her as a survivor. I look at all of these people. They've created their own little world. They all come from their own fragmented lives to kind of come together and form their own family. Whatever her history is it has left her being somebody that is a fighter. What we can expect is that, if she's at all threatened by any kind of potential for breakup of her family or harm to her son, she will go to any lengths to protect that. You will see that in various forms.
Nads: Katey, how much did you know about motorcycle gangs or clubs before signing on?
Katey: I knew a little bit. When I was in my 20s, I definitely kind of ran with a fast crowd. Some of that involved people with bikes. I don't know very much about the actual club situation. I've learned a lot since then, but I didn't have a lot of real experience, per se, no.
Nads: Ron, did you know anything about bike culture before starting the series and had you ever been on a bike, did you know anything about the ins and outs?