17 Little Secrets Behind Sons of Anarchy

Quick Links

Sons of Anarchy is one of the most popular shows ever to be on television, and as long as you don't mind violence, it's one of the best, too. It was created by Kurt Sutter and was on TV from 2008 to 2014. It's the story of an outlaw motorcycle club based out of Charming, a town in California. The main story in the show, out of many, involves Jax Teller, a member of the club who begins questioning what the club does while he also questions himself. The main themes of the show are brotherhood, loyalty, and redemption, as well as a whole lot of violence.

As popular as the show was, there are still a lot of things out there that are kind of secret, things that the producers don't really want you to find out about. Some of them, you might've known once and then forgotten, others you may have heard of and didn't believe that they possibly could've been true, and still others, you'll see on this list for the first time. Either way, when it comes to Sons of Anarchy, it's hard to get enough.

Here are 17 Secrets The Producers of Sons of Anarchy Don't Want You to Know.

Half Sack Killed Someone For Real

Half Sack was played by an actor named "Johnny Lewis." The odd, as well as sad, part of this whole thing is that on the show, Half Sack wasn't tough at all, but in real life, Lewis actually killed an older woman and then died himself. Kurt Sutter said, "It was a tragic end for an extremely talented guy, who, unfortunately, had lost his way. I wish I could say that I was shocked by the events last night, but I was not. I am deeply sorry that an innocent life had to be thrown into his destructive path. Yes, it's day or [sic] mourning, but it's also a day of awareness and gratitude. Sadly, some of us carry the message by dying."

They Attempted to Stay True to How Motorcycle Gangs Work

One of the things about the show was how much they tried to totally stay true to what real-life motorcycle gangs were about. Although they obviously didn't really do that, at least they tried. One of the many ways that they attempted to be realistic was by the costuming; all of the members of the gang wore patches that signified their role in the club. This is one of those things that I would imagine is partly because they wanted to be realistic with the show and also partly because they didn't want to be fake and make some random motorcycle gang mad. Just not a good idea.

It Was Going to Be Named Something Different

Originally, Sons of Anarchy was going to be called Forever Sam Crow. This obviously would've been a totally enormous mistake, as that name just doesn't have a great ring to it. If you don't get it, this is because of the name "Sam Crow." "SAMCRO" is the full name of the Sons Of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original. It goes without saying that the show probably wouldn't have been quite as popular. When you think about it, Sons of Anarchy is one of the coolest names that one could possibly imagine. Forever Sam Crow? Not so much.

Ron Perlman Was Scared of Motorcycles

You ever wonder what goes through their minds when big Hollywood actors get the chance to play someone that rides a motorcycle? Are they totally psyched about it, or are they terrified? I know in my case, I've never been on a motorcycle, and I don't want to be on one either. Well, count Ron Perlman on my side. He was terrified of riding his bike and wanted nothing to do with it. He got even more freaked out when he took a few awful spills off his bike. He ended up taking lessons to try and get himself a little more used to riding. It worked, but he never became a big fan of the whole thing.

Kurt Sutter Is Scared of Dolls

Some of the more memorable scenes in the show are when Tig, who's a tough guy in pretty much anyone's book, freaks out when he sees a doll. This is kind of funny on the show, in part because why would anyone be freaked out by dolls? Well, that's the thing: the producer of the show, Kurt Sutter is totally terrified by dolls, so he wrote that into the show. Who knows if that made his fear better, or if it made it worse? The fear of dolls is actually called "Pediophobia," and sadly, Kurt Sutter suffers from it. Why he would tell people that is truly anyone's guess.

Hunnam and Perlman Were in a Weird Movie Together

Most people, when they think of Charlie Hunnam and Ron Perlman, think of them as two totally tough guys in a motorcycle gang. Not many people think of them as a guy and a transgender hacker that he hired. If you've never seen Ron Perlman dressed as a woman, well, you're totally lucky, but if you do want to see these two in this rather odd movie, then just check out 3, 2, 1...Frankie Go Boom. Yeah, I know... even the name is pretty horrible. It's hard at times to figure out what people are thinking, and that includes Hunnam and Perlman who decided this would be a good career more.

The Police Station Was the Real-Life Production Office

Sometimes, in Hollywood, sets are used for more than one thing when they're not being used. A good example of this is the set of the show that was the Charming Police station. When it wasn't being used to film things that were going to be used for the show, it was the room that the writers hung out in and tossed ideas around. I don't know about you, but it certainly wouldn't inspire me to write well if I was staring at a jail cell all day long. Or who knows? Maybe it actually would inspire me to stare at a jail cell all day long. Isn't that the purpose of jail cells after all?

It Wasn't a Cult Show

A big part of the success of the show was that it had the vibe of being something cool that had an edge to it, that not everyone would watch. But the reality was it was a critics' darling that won tons of awards, including numerous Golden Globe Awards and Emmys. This is truly a hard thing to do. It's really difficult to be popular with the masses and with the critics and still have the ability to have your hardcore fans think you're really cool. Sons of Anarchy managed to do both, which is why people will remember and watch this show for years to come.

Happy Was in the Hell's Angels

David Labrava played the character named "Happy" on the show, but what you might not know was that he used to be an actual member of the Hells Angels. Apparently, now, he's an inactive member who's still in good standing, and he was hired by the show, in part, to be a technical advisor to make sure they presented the motorcycle gang in the right way. I have to say that job sounds totally awful. You mean his job is to make sure things look right to everyone? Including the Hells Angels? What if things don't look right? That's one job I wouldn't be interested in.

Jax Killed the Most People

There's no doubt there was a lot of killing on the show. Why do you think Jax was so bummed out all the time? Man, all that killing bummed him out. In total, there were 175 murders that either happened on the show or were have said to have happened beforehand. Out of that 175, Tig killed 28, Happy 24, and Chibs 17, and oh, by the way, "Jax" Teller killed 46. Wait a minute... are you kidding me? All of that whining and crying about the way things happen and all the violence, and Jax killed 46 men? What a total hypocrite.

Stephen King Has Been Bachman Before

Stephen King had a cameo on the show. He played a cleaner by the name of "Bachman." This is funnier than one might think because King used to use the name "Richard Bachman" as a pseudonym when he first started his writing career. Now, he's so totally rich that it would be completely insane to put out a book as anything other than Stephen King, so he's left the whole Bachman thing behind. Pseudonyms are kind of funny that way. You might give yourself a different name as a writer, get famous with another, and wonder why you ever did it in the first place.

Most Stars Ride Their Bikes Off the Set

While Perlman wasn't all that into it, you can't say the same for the rest of the cast, who not only totally liked riding their bikes on the show but got into them outside of it as well. Many of the actors, such as Charlie Hunnam, Mark Boone Junior, Theo Rossi, Kim Coates, and Emilio Rivera all ride bikes regularly when not on set, and some of them have even led rides for charity. I guess that's cool, but as I said, I'm not one who's all into riding motorcycles. But I guess that's one of the many reasons why I never would be cast on a show as cool as Sons of Anarchy.

Chibs' Scars Are For Real

Tommy Flanagan is one of the toughest-looking actors on a show full of tough-looking actors, and much of that is because of his facial scars. But are they real? Indeed they are. Flanagan is from Scotland, and the scars beside his mouth are what are known as "The Glasgow Smile." If you can't figure out why they're called that, I'm not going to tell you. He was the victim of a knife attack on the streets. Now, this is one of those things where it seems that Flanagan may have actually gotten lucky in the long term. Sure it must've been awful to go through that, but at least, he obviously got a lot of work and made a lot of money from his distinctive looks.

Lots of Stars From The Shield Have Been on the Show

Kurt Sutter is not just a one trick pony when it comes to doing work on successful shows; he also was a lead writer and an executive producer for The Shield. He apparently enjoyed the people he worked with there because CCH Pounder, Kenny Johnson, Benito Martinez, Ally Walker, Jay Karnes, David Rees Snell, Emilio Rivera, Walton Goggins, Jeff Kober, and Michael Chiklis were on The Shield, and all of them also appeared at one point on Sons of Anarchy. It appears that no matter what else anyone can say about Sutter, no one would be able to question his loyalty.

Scott Glenn Was Going to Be Clay

It's pretty hard to think of anyone in the role of Clay other than Ron Perlman, but at one point, it was going to be played by Scott Glenn, who's probably best known for The Silence of the Lambs but has been in all sorts of things. He played Clay in the pilot, but when the show was picked up by the network, they decided he wasn't quite right and got Perlman instead. This was obviously the right move. Is there anyone you can imagine in the role of Clay other than Ron Perlman? Come on... even if he's awful on a motorcycle, at least, he still looks the part.

It Was More Popular Than You Think

While there are some shows like Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, or Mad Men that are thought of as the most popular shows, Sons of Anarchy is also right up there when it comes to being incredibly successful. Millions of people have watched this show over the years. While producers obviously don't want to totally hide something of this nature, they do want to keep it somewhat on the down low because, once again, Sons of Anarchy is thought of more as a bit of a cult show than an actual blockbuster, and that's a big part of what makes it so successful.

It Might Not Be Over

When something is as successful as Sons of Anarchy has been, it isn't easy for it to just go away. Some of the things that have been talked about being in the works are a video game, a series of books, and maybe even a prequel. I honestly don't know about all of that. It seems a little silly to try and take something as cool as this show and try to make it better. But that's what happens when something is so successful and when there's money involved. Don't be surprised if you see more things related to Sons of Anarchy come out in the near or distant future.

Source: latimes.com