Sons of Anarchy: 10 Things You (Probably) Don’t Know

Sons of Anarchy can boast a distinguished pedigree. The series is heavily rooted in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the tale of a young prince seeking revenge for the murder of his father. As a direct parallel, Jax’s desire to avenge his father’s death by taking out Clay (Ron Perlman) is a central theme that underpins the first six seasons of SOA. Once you make the connection, it’s impossible to shake from your mind. Clay is based upon King Claudius, who murdered Hamlet’s father in order to secure the throne and marry Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude (aka: Katey Sagal’s Gemma). While Hamlet communicates with his dead father by conversing with his ghost, Jax keeps his father alive by reading from his dad’s journal, which was written specifically as an ongoing letter to his son. As a consequence, Jax’s disheartened feelings about the club reflect Hamlet’s melancholy about the Kingdom of Denmark.

One of the most symbolically important SOA characters, the blind and imprisoned Otto Delaney, is played by Kurt Sutter, the series’ creator, writer and producer. Otto’s willingness to suffer enormous pain and humiliation represents the extremities of loyalty that not only defines the brotherhood but which the brotherhood imposes.

In fact, prior to SOA, tough-guy Perlman had never even ridden a motorcycle. He knew nothing about bike culture and was terrified of the Harley he had to ride in the series. He suffered several mishaps while riding (described by series creator Sutter as “near-death experiences”) and these totally spooked the burly actor. He took many riding lessons to lessen the fear.

For anyone who watched the landmark British miniseries Queer as Folk and followed Charlie Hunnam’s early TV career, it’s still difficult to see him as the leather-clad, macho Jax without being reminded of his iconic, sexually explicit breakthrough role as 15-year-old flirt Nathan Maloney in 1999.

Katey Sagal, who plays fierce matriarch Gemma and is married to series creator Sutter, has performed songs for each of the show’s six seasons to date, and released her fourth solo album last November. Gemma certainly had good reason to sing the blues after the violent Season 6 finale, but Sagal insists her character will never sing on screen in SOA. (We’ll see about that.)

The “Men of Mayhem” patch worn by Jax and only a handful of other club members signifies that the bearer has shed blood in the name of SAMCRO.

Rockers Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson will turn up in recurring roles in the final season (starting September 9). Love will play Abel’s preschool teacher (how quaint) and Manson will play a white supremacist (less quaint) whom Jax meets in the slammer.

The interior of the Charming police station is actually the production room where the scriptwriters work.

If ever anyone is kicked out of the club, they are obliged to forfeit anything and everything that bears the Sons of Anarchy logo. This includes tattoos. Either you remove them yourself or the club will burn them off for you. Ouch.

When the series went into production back in 2007, it was called Forever Sam Crow, referencing the club’s acronymic name, SAMCRO – Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original.