Sons of Anarchy Cast Then and Now: Get Up to Speed with the Beloved Biker Gang
The dark and gritty drama Sons of Anarchy offered a dynamic look at the inner workings of an outlaw motorcycle club. Airing from 2008 to 2014, the show featured powerhouse cast, award-winning performances and intense plots that dug deep into the darkness of biker gang life.
Sons of Anarchy offered up a captivating mix of urgent plot points involving government corruption, racism, vigilantism and more, while simultaneously showing the strong sense of loyalty and care the gang members shared. The show became a critical hit and was well-known for its authenticity, which came in large part from former Hells Angel David Labrava, who both advised on and acted in the show.
Sons of Anarchy cast
It's been nearly 10 years since the motorcycle gang took their last ride, and we're taking a look back at the striking stars of the Sons of Anarchy cast.
Charlie Hunnam as Jackson "Jax" Teller
Charlie Hunnam played Jackson “Jax” Teller, the VP and later president of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (SAMCRO). Jax's roots ran deep since his late father was once president of the club. Unlike his father, though, Jax wanted to begin steering the club into more legal businesses and cut back on the criminal activity so that his buddies would be set financially in the coming years. Not everyone understood his vision, and as the leader of this wanted gang, Jax ended up being an antihero.
Hunnam felt a deep attachment to his character, telling Glamour that when the show ended, “It was actually quite emotional for me, living and loving that guy for so long and to have to finally put him to bed. I found myself going back to set a lot telling the security guards, Oh, I forgot something’ so they let me on.”
The British actor was an avid rugby player as a teen, and was discovered at 17 while shopping with his brother. He was soon cast in his first role, for three episodes of the teen drama Byker Grove. His first major part came when he was cast as a 15 year-old schoolboy in Queer as Folk.
Soon enough, Hunnam moved to the US, where he appeared in the Dawson's Creek spinoff Young Americans and led the cast of the cult early '00s college comedy show Undeclared. He then starred as the title character in the Charles Dickens adaptation Nicholas Nickleby and appeared in movies like Cold Mountain, Children of Men, Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, The Lost City of Z and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
Next up, Hunnam, now 43, will star in both parts of the epic space sci-fi movie Rebel Moon.
Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow
Katey Sagal played Gemma Teller Morrow, the widow of Jax’s father and current wife of former SAMCRO president Clay Morrow. Gemma had a strong influence over SAMCRO, being the head matriarch, and there was a deep mutual admiration between her and the bikers. As the series went on, Gemma revealed a darker side. Sagal delighted in playing a dark character, saying, “It’s great to be mean… it’s fun.” Offscreen, she married Sons of Anarchy creator and actor Kurt Sutter in 2004, four years before the series premiered.
Best known for playing one of the most iconic sitcom moms, the sassy Peggy Bundy, on Married…. With Children from 1987 to 1997, the multitalented Sagal began her career in the music industry. In the '70s and early '80s, she provided backing vocals for Bob Dylan, Etta James, Tanya Tucker and Olivia Newton-John, and was also a member of The Harlettes, Bette Midler’s backing band.
Related: ‘Married…with Children’ Cast Then and Now: Catch Up With The Bundy Clan
After Married... With Children, Sagal voiced Leela, a one-eyed, purple-haired mutant on the sci-fi cartoon series Futurama and starred in the sitcom 8 Simple Rules. In 2011, Sagal won a Golden Globe for her work in Sons of Anarchy. Currently, Sagal, now 69, co-stars on the Roseanne spinoff The Conners. She's also appeared in episodes of That '70s Show, Lost, Boston Legal and The Big Bang Theory.
Mark Boone Junior as Robert "Bobby Elvis" Munson
Robert “Bobby Elvis” Munson was the former VP-turned-secretary of SAMCRO. Mark Boone Junior played Bobby as a more even-tempered member of the biker gang yet was always willing to take some hits in order to defend the club. Boone brought authenticity to the role, saying, “I started riding bikes when I was really young, but I stopped when I was 19 because my mother asked me to, so I stopped riding for 35 years and now I’m just addicted. It is my only addiction.”
Now 68, Mark Boone Junior started acting in the '80s, and appeared in shows like The Wonder Years, Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He's also been an intense presence in movies like Die Hard 2, Seven, Memento, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Batman Begins.
Kim Coates as Alexander "Tig" Trager
Kim Coates played the unlikable Alexander “Tig” Trager, the former VP of SAMCRO with a violent nature and volatile attitude.
Coates began as a theater actor and moved into TV in the '80s, going on to appear in Miami Vice, The Outer Limits, CSI and Smallville. He's also been in movies like Bad Boys, Waterworld, Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down. Now 65, he most recently appeared in the 2022 miniseries White House Plumbers.
Maggie Siff as Dr. Tara Knowles
Maggie Siff played Dr. Tara Knowles, Jax’s high school sweetheart and physician at St. Thomas Hospital. Even though she was a respected doctor, Dr. Knowles had been arrested a couple of times in Jax’s company and tired of her baggage and the biker lifestyle, she moved to San Diego, breaking Jax’s heart.
Now 49, Siff started out appearing in small theatrical productions and temping at a hedge fund. She then appeared in episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Nip/Tuck and Law & Order and received more notice for her role as department store heiress Rachel Menken on the highly-acclaimed Mad Men. Most recently, she starred as psychiatrist Wendy Rhoades on the finance world drama series Billions from 2016 to 2023.
Ron Perlman as Clarence "Clay" Morrow
Tough-guy actor Ron Perlman played one of the original biker members of SAMCRO, Clarence “Clay” Morrow. Morrow was the International President of the club but because of his drug smuggling activities his loyalty was tested and he became enemy number one.
Perlman, who has nearly 300 credits to his name, began acting in the late '70s and broke out when he played the Beast in the '80s Beauty and the Beast TV series. He then acted in movies like The City of Lost Children, Alien: Resurrection and the Hellboy franchise. He also regularly provides voiceover work for cartoons. Now 73, Perlman is still keeping busy, and has multiple films in the works.
Tommy Flanagan as Filip "Chibs" Telford
Known as “Chibs,” Filip Telford was the former VP of SAMCRO and eventually took on the position of President after Jax. The nickname Chibs came from his facial scars and derives from Scottish slang meaning “a stabbing weapon” Chibs was originally a member of a Belfast Charter of the biker club but was exiled by the IRA street boss so he quickly packed his bags, moved to California and made the best of his new surroundings.
In reality, Tommy Flanagan, now 58, is a Scottish actor who started out as a DJ and got his scars in a knife fight. He's acted in shows like 24, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Revenge and co-starred in blockbusters like Braveheart, Gladiator and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
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