The Sons of Anarchy season six premiere was one of the most anticipated events in television. Fans lined up at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Saturday, September 7, for hours hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite actors. Reporting for Your Entertainment Corner (YEC), I was on the red carpet talking with some of the cast about what lies ahead for season six, as well as their off-season projects. Of course, I had to ask what they thought about the Fifty Shades of Grey casting announcement that has triggered a worldwide Charlie Hunnam frenzy!
Paris Barclay, President of the Director’s Guild of America and Executive Producer on Sons, says they have yet to shoot an episode in which “major shit doesn’t go down.” Barclay identified episodes one, four, and seven as “the benchmarks where things happen.”
McNally Sagal, who plays hospital administrator Margaret Murphy, explained that her character’s tattoo plays a big factor in her steadfast support of Dr. Tara Knowles (Maggie Siff). She also confirmed her character is still alive and that she’s been in some dangerous situations. Can’t wait to see what that is all about!
Michael Ornstein said to expect Chucky to get into “a lot of trouble, deep trouble,” while Winter Ave Zoli confessed the club is the closest family her character, Lyla Winston, has ever had. She says the club connection is crucial for her character’s survival.
LaMonica Garrett, who plays Deputy Sheriff Cane, provided a quick update on what is happening at the Sheriff’s office: more drama! He confirmed we’ll also see more of his character this season.
Tommy Flanagan, aka Chibs, reiterated his commitment for the Boot Campaign and his respect for veterans. As usual, he was in great spirits and showcased that wonderful sense of humor of his by breaking into dance to pitch a Glee/Sons of Anarchy cross-over show to be called “Songs of Anarchy,” which would be all about motorcycles and leotards. That would be a sight to see!
Theo Rossi revealed Juice will have to answer tough questions this season. “There are prices to pay for everything that has been set up over the last five seasons.” In all honestly, I’m worried about Juice! Next, Rossi dished that his production company will have several big announcements coming up within the next two weeks. Since he’s a Twitter regular (@TheoRossi), I urge fans to pay close attention to his timeline.
David Labrava expressed his pride at being involved with this ground breaking show while noting how his character, Happy, has remained true to SAMCRO: “Happy is the last person at the table who has not wronged one single person on any level whatsoever!” Labrava noted Happy’s fierce loyalty to SAMCRO’s current president – “He believes in Jax!” – and told me to expect to see tons of Jax and Happy scenes.
Kim Coates laughed about how Tig never learns from his mistakes. “He always shoots first and asks questions later.” Coates also warned fans to expect backlash from the Iranians.
Jeff Kober admitted to loving his work on Sons and provided some scoop regarding what Jacob Hale Jr. has been up to. “Hale has been having kind of a hard time. He may have taken a few steps in the wrong direction.”
Siff talked about the symbolic nature of her haircut for her character. When she discussed it with series creator Kurt Sutter, it was a way to break away from Gemma’s (Katey Sagal) look but how it also reflects how Tara wanted to break out from the MC world and away from Jax and Gemma. I was thrilled when Peter Weller joined my conversation with Siff. This season he’s on double-duty directing and acting, playing crooked ex-cop Charles Barosky. He and Siff joked about their “very dysfunctional relationship” as they’ve worked together before in Harris Yulin’s play, Frank’s Home, back in 2007 in NYC. The actors clearly have a strong admiration for one another but Weller couldn’t wait to gush about directing Siff.“She’s got a range from A to Z so I don’t have to say anything to her.”
I agreed with him. My favorite Tara scenes are the ones in which she doesn’t have lines and for those paying close attention, the actress manages to convey so much emotion without using words. Weller concurred with me. “The thing she’s gifted at…[the scenes where] there is a political something in play and you have to dodge it and you have to bury yourself. You don’t want to talk to your husband; you put the food away, or put your kids to sleep. That’s where she’s gifted, the life and the space that is covering what she really wants to say.”
Siff was quick to compliment Weller too. “Every good actor needs a great director. That is true and we’re not always so lucky to have them.”
From this conversation, I didn’t lose sight of an important tidbit that is worth sharing. According to Weller, expect “a very emotionally charged scene” for Tara in episode eight.
Before letting Siff head into the theatre, I had to inquire about the status of Jax and Tara’s relationship. “It’s not so great for them this year,” she said. “I think she left last season feeling like a lot of betrayal and despair about their relationship, about where he is and his mind and life and heart. This season, she’s really about protecting her kids. She’s doing what she has to do to do that.”
I also asked Siff about a hunch I have regarding Tara. Considering all she has gone through since her arrest, she seems suspiciously calm about how the whole chain of events has unfolded. Siff agreed, “It’s a good way of putting it. Yeah, I think that is right!”
I was curious about what the cast thought about Charlie’s new film role as Christian Grey, the main character in E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey. It was nice to see them express strong support for him.
Barclay has high praise for Hunnam. “I’ve never met an actor as diligent and as conscientious and as well-prepared as Charlie Hunnam. I don’t know what kind of practice he will have to do for Fifty Shades of Grey…” and before he was able to finish, McNally Sagal interrupted him – all in good jest, “I will help him practice…I will help him practice if he needs anything!”
Ornstein is convinced “Charlie is really going to make it [the book] better” while Labrava took it a step further by elaborating how Hunnam “gets to the psychology of the character and figures it out: where and why he’s there, where he’s coming, where he’s going…”
My favorite response had to be Flanagan’s. When asked about the Grey role, he feigned shock and outrage. “I thought I was going to get that role!” He then shared his true feelings. “It’s fantastic! He’s born to play that role…He’s great. I love him, he’s my boy!”
Hunnam’s arrival on the red carpet was marked with piercing screams on both sides of Hollywood Blvd. Hunnam arrived in an impeccable grey suit (a nod to the Grey fans perhaps?) and was accompanied by a personal publicist, a first. He signed autographs for fans and was the very last cast member to step into the Dolby Theater minutes before the premiere screening. During opening remarks, series creator Kurt Sutter thanked his cast, jokingly referring to Charlie as “Mr. Fifty Shades of Fantastic.”
Treacherous, dangerous, violent, mayhem, and crazy were some of the adjectives the Sons of Anarchy cast used to describe season six. Based on the cast’s enthusiasm at what is yet to come, it sounds like this will be a one of a kind season.
Tune in to Sons of Anarchy Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT, only on FX.
To learn more about the show, visit: http://www.fxnetworks.com/soa and http://www.sutterink.com/.
To check out Kurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy video channel on YouTube, go to http://www.youtube.com/sutterinksoa.
Follow @sonsofanarchy, @sutterink, and @FXNetworks and tweet using the hashtag #SOAFX.
Photos ©2013 Elle Lutz and Judy Manning for YourEntertainmentCorner.com. All Rights Reserved.
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