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TV Junkie: 'Sons of Anarchy' Season 3 Premiere
On Monday evening we went to the ArcLight to see the premiere of the third season of FX's "Sons of Anarchy". While we were there we got the chance to speak with series stars: Charlie Hunnam aka Jackson "Jax" Teller, Theo Rossi aka Juan Carlos "Juice" Ortiz, Ron Perlman aka Clarence "Clay" Morrow, Kim Coates aka Alex "Tig" Trager, Jamie McShane aka Cameron Hayes, and Kristen Renton aka Ima, who all gave us insight into how they develop their characters as well as hints of what will develop in season three.
This is a close-knit group of actors and creators as we found out at the Television Critics Association panel a few weeks ago and that was even more in evidence at this event. This must have been a tough season to shoot as just about everybody's character's life is on the line, not to mention the kidnapping of Jax's son and what appears to be his disintegrating relationship with Tara.
At the end of last season we saw the club lose new recruit 'Half Sack' and we can tell you that in the season three premiere episode, much to our shock, we lose another long-standing character of even greater depth. From what we've seen of the season so far, series creator Kurt Sutter is firing on all cylinders and has an incredibly capable and devoted ensemble to back up his intense storylines.
SAMCRO is more than a motorcycle club, business operation (illegal), or even an extended family. This is a tribe with warriors, healers, and elders - they've all got roles and responsibilities in, as Ron Perlman put it, "their own society". Their tattoos are their warpaint, their leathers are their armor - it's a primitive premise, but when you've "got eleven/twelve leads [leading actors] on this show... and to write for all of us is a very tough job, but I'm thrilled as to what I've got", as Kim Coates told me, and it's this depth of writing and performance that is a thrill to watch.
Season 3 premieres on Tuesday, September 7 at 10pm. On a related note, this week "Sons of Anarchy" Season 2 has come out on DVD and Blu-ray with several hours of extras that are worth checking out: a never-released featurette on "The Moral Code of the Sons of Anarchy" as well as a great roundtable discussion between creator, writers and cast, as well as a segment on the challenge of casting the actors in the series.
The above video contains all the clips that are available separately below:
Charlie Hunnam aka Jax
Ron Perlman aka Clay
Kim Coates aka Tig
Theo Rossi aka Juice
Jamie McShane aka Cameron Hayes
Kristen Renton aka Ima
There's a few more pics from the day at this photo set.
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