Sons of Anarchy is one of the great TV dramas of the ’00s. It was a show about a northern California biker club with seriously Shakespearean tendencies.
In order to help you gain a further and better appreciation of SOA , here are 10+ Sons of Anarchy behind the scenes secrets.
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There’s a reason why Jax always wore white shoes.
Charlie Hunnam based the character of Jax on a real person.
He wore exactly the shoes he wore, the jeans he wore. He had a very powerful impact on Hunnam and, apparently, he was an amazing guy.
Kurt Sutter and Katey Sagal are married in real-life.
Show creator Kurt Sutter is the real-life husband to Katey Sagal (Gemma).
A number of their extended family members also appeared on the show over the years.
A fact that complicated their professional and personal lives early on.
“The commitment you want to make with material like this, as an actor, you have to shake the stuff off, but this was a particular experience where it was difficult,” Katey said.
Kurt also plays incarcerated SAMCRO club member, Otto.
The descent of Otto Delaney is one of the most unfortunate television tragedies of all time.
Without question, there is no member of SAMCRO who shows more unwavering loyalty than Otto.
That’s not Charlie Hunnam’s back in the intro.
For some strange reason, production decided to go with a body double in lieu of the real thing.
This is surprising, considering Charlie Hunnam is practically a living Adonis.
Was the homeless woman supposed to be Jesus?
Numerous times throughout the series, a strange homeless woman shows up in Charming. Many have extrapolated that she’s actually the embodiment of Christ.
Sutter addresses this but in a most ambiguous manner.
Charming doesn’t exist.
This probably won’t come as a surprise to most, but there is no such town as Charming.
The fictional northern California town was actually shot in North Hollywood, among other places .
Every gun tells a story.
Guns and weapons play an integral role throughout the series.
That’s why each club member has his own unique firearm specifically catered and based on their individual personalities.
Charlie Hunnam was discovered in a shoe store.
An inebriated young Charlie Hunnam was out Christmas shopping when he just so happened to blow a kiss to a television production manager. The young woman inquired if he’d ever considered a career in acting.
The rest is history.
The drama wasn’t all on-screen.
Every family fights, especially when you’re a family of fictionalized bikers. Things were known to get heavy on set from time to time.
There was even a very strongly worded shouting match that broke out between Kurt Sutter and Tommy Flanagan.
The *SOA* prequel is set to star Brad Pitt.
It remains to be seen if this prequel will ever indeed see the light of day (fingers crossed).
That being said, Brad Pitt has been attached to play John Teller since day one.
The show is a modern reworking of Shakespeare’s *Hamlet*.
Jax is Hamlet, Clay is Claudius, and Gemma is Gertrude.
You could even say that Hamlet’s father ‘s ghost is the memoir of John Teller.
The scars on Chibs’ face are real.
No makeup needed! Tommy Flanagan had an unfortunate run-in at a nightclub in his youth.
The attackers cut his face in what’s known as a ” Glasgow Grin ,” leaving him scarred for life.
The nickname “Chibs” is symbolic.
The word “Chibs” is actually Scottish slang . It literally means “knife” or “stabbing tool.”
I always wondered where that came from. Say what you will about SOA , they always strove for realism every single step of the way.
The many talents of Katey Sagal.
Katey Sagal has a very impressive singing voice.
In fact, if you’re a fan of the show, you’ve already heard her perform multiple times . Katey sings at least one song every season.
It was incredibly hot on set.
Wearing full leathers and jeans in the California sun can be a work hazard. Kim Coates confirmed a number of crew members were hospitalized.
“We used to call it doing ‘the timber.’ We’d lose a crew member a week from passing out. Boom. Gone.”
Kurt Sutter purchased 5000 copies of one *SOA* episode for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Kurt is a New Jersey native.
More than anything, he wanted his friends and family to know that he hadn’t forgotten about them during this most trying time.
The music tells a story.
Music is often used to explain or foreshadow events to come in SOA . For example, in the episode where Juice was attempting to hang himself, you can hear a version of Billie Holiday’s “[Strange Fruit]( https://www.npr.org/2012/09/05/158933012/the-strange-story-of-the-man-behind-strange-fruit” playing in the background.
“Strange Fruit” was a song Holiday sang to white audiences about the black lynchings in America.
Ron Perlman wasn’t the original Clay Morrow.
The pilot for Sons of Anarchy was actually shot with Scott Glenn playing Clay Morrow – not Ron Perlman.
The network was apparently not a fan of the direction things were going in with Glenn and decided to recast.
Real members of the Hell’s Angels MC appeared on the show.
Sonny Barger, who played Lenny “The Pimp” Janowitz, was a real-life member of the Hell’s Angels .
Not only that, but he was also a sitting president and founding member of the Oakland charter.
Ron Perlman didn’t know how to ride a motorcycle.
Ron Perlman is no fan of motorcycles and, to hear him tell it, the feeling goes both ways.
The actor had a number of close calls and even near-death experiences while riding on set.
It was one of the most-watched shows of all time.
While it was on the air, Sons of Anarchy absolutely decimated the ratings.
The final season was the most-watched series in the 20-year history of the network. The seventh season averaged around 7.5 million viewers per episode.
Tig’s fear of dolls hits home.
One of the more comical elements that pop up at various times throughout the series is Tig’s fear of dolls.
It turns out the affliction is called pediophobia and Kurt Sutter has it in real life.
It was a cast of rock stars – literally.
Over the years, a number of famous musicians have appeared on the show.
Most notably, these cameos include former RHCP/Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, Black Flag’s Henry Rollins, and, the King of Shock Rock, Marilyn Manson .
