Smallscreen Features
Katey Sagal interview: Mother Of Anarchy
By Ian Cullen Aug 31, 2010, 18:53 GMT
The series revolves around a California biker gang, SAMCRO, and their day-to-day struggles and relationships. Katey Sagal plays the matriarchal role of Gemma Teller-Morrow, who is very much at the centre of much of the drama.
For the last few years we’ve got to see how truly talented an actress Katey Sagal is on the hit FX drama Sons of Anarchy.
Yet both the show and Katey were viciously snubbed by the Emmy Awards, who chose to nominate safe shows as opposed to giving any recognition to this tough gritty drama, which deserves much more attention than it has received.
The series revolves around a California biker gang, SAMCRO, and their day-to-day struggles and relationships. Katey Sagal plays the matriarchal role of Gemma Teller-Morrow, who is very much at the centre of much of the drama.
The first season of the show introduced Gemma as the den mother, and saw her trying to balance her role as wife to SAMCRO president Clay, and mother to her son, vice president Jax, who in turn is struggling to effect change within the club which Clay isn’t open too.
Amidst all the politics and strife that play out within the club. Gemma is very much the glue that holds things together, and the person that keeps Clay and Jax from butting heads in the first season.
However, it is the conflicted love Gemma feels for her husband and son, as well as the bigger family of the club that makes her such a compelling character within the series mythology.
“Sons of Anarchy” is a contemporary take on classic theatrical themes that you’d normally pay money to see in theater for a Shakespearean or Greek plays that deal with family turmoil and tragedy.
The show doesn’t pull any punches with the characters or the situations depicted in the series, and the one thing we love about it. Is that the characters who seem all too real to a point where you care for them, even when they screw up.
Something which is very rare in television.
Monsters and Critics recently caught up with Katey Sagal, and talked with her about the show and some of the themes that we have seen over the first two seasons, and touched on some of the things we’ll get to see played out in the third season, which airs September 7 on FX.
Monsters and Critics: We love Sons Of Anarchy here in the UK, and I’ve been fascinated with the role you play in the series of Gemma, and wondered how the role came about for you, and what your take is on her.
Katey Sagal: My Husband Kurt [Sutter] who is the creator of Sons Of Anarchy. He sort of modeled the show a bit on Hamlet’s prototypes. So, she’s based a little on Lady Gertrude, and she’s a little bit Lady MacBeth too.
She’s the Matriarch of a very macho world. The Sons Of Anarchy is guys, but in that world. You know, there’s strong women behind them. In a weird way all my research into that world. There’s not necessarily a Gemma type.
The women tend to be not in such power positions. So, definitely creative license has found her. She’s kind of made up in other words, but like any good tribal group of guys. There is hierarchy, and in this case there’s a Queen, and Gemma is that.
She’s the maternal influence over the entire club. I think that she thinks of them all as her family. She has her son and her husband, but she thinks of all of them as her family.
M&C: One thing that had a lot of play in the first season, but not so much the second. Was Jax having come across his late Father’s Journal, and during the first season, and a little in the second. I’m just wondering if you could give us a little insight as to why Gemma is so conflicted about the Journal?
Katey Sagal: You’ll find out as the series goes on, and this is where I can’t talk too much because it speaks to the historical nature of the club, it speaks to what happened before we even got to where we are in season one.
So it’s all the back-story, but that journal... there’s a lot of secrets tied in with this world, and a lot of things that she’s trying to protect her son from.
She looks at her son a little bit like his father who was sort of an idealist. He felt the original vision of the Motorcycle club was to be free, but not necessarily to walk down such a dark path.
Jax’s conflict in season one was all about reconciling where they are now with this new knowledge found in his father’s journal. What the original vision for the club was. Gemma’s conflicted in how far she wants him to realize that because she knows. I think I can say this without giving away anything.
John Teller who was Jax’s father started to kind of come away from the workings of the club. Because he wanted to see it go in a different way and Gemma did not agree with that. So, she’s protecting her son from walking down that same path.
M&C: A relationship that really evolved as a result of Gemma’s rape was your onscreen friendship with Tara. Where do you think Gemma is now with Tara?
Katey Sagal: Gemma’s very smart. In that she loves her family, her first motivation is always to protect her son, and to keep her family safe.
I think at this point in season two she realized that Tara is here to stay, and if you can’t beat them. You might as well join them. Gemma’s tact is that she will now teach Tara how to be in this life, and she’s kind of moving beyond the historical part of her relationship with Tara, which was really that Tara was Jax’s high school sweetheart, and she broke his heart. She left. She left this world.
So that’s why Gemma at the beginning was very trepidatious about letting her back in. You know it’s sort of like, “Your back!” Now in season two we start to see them bonding, plus we see that Gemma with everything she’s going through needs an ally. She needs help. She reaches out, and Tara shows up. She steps up to it. So, right there I think a woman like Gemma that it just shows, you know.
The alliances, and that’s what’s most important to Gemma is that kind of loyalty. She’s slowly starting to embrace Tara.
M&C: Do you think that Gemma is grooming Tara to maybe step up as the Matriarch at some stage to succeed her?
Katey Sagal: I don’t think she’s thinking of it like that because I don’t think Gemma has any concept about getting older [Laughs] or time marching on.
I think Gemma really likes her position, and doesn’t think in terms of handing it over to anybody, but I think she does realize how serious her son is about Tara. So she needs to learn a few things, which is why Gemma is teaching her those things.
M&C: My next door neighbors are motorcycle enthusiast, and they have a couple of Harley’s locked in the shed. They’d like to know if you’ve ever been on a Motorcycle, and if not would you consider riding for the show?
Katey Sagal: I’ve ridden on the back! I’ve ridden on the back of bikes a lot, but now that I have three children in my real life. I’m a little careful to even get on an airplane, [Laughs].
So I don’t know that I’m going to be jumping on a motorcycle anytime soon. My husband rides, and I know a lot of people that ride, but I live in Los Angeles where nobody is looking out for the motorcycle. It’s a pretty dangerous city to ride a motorcycle, but I get it!
When we’ve been out in the desert and places like that. I understand the love of it. I just don’t like it in the city.
M&C: One of the big things we know about this season is that Hal Holbrook is going to play your father. Have you had opportunity to work with him yet, and if so what did it play like from your perspective. Without giving to much away in spoilers of course.
Katey Sagal: Yes, and he’s lovely. Hal was really fabulous, he’s in the first four episodes of season three, and he was wonderful. I was a huge fan. So I was really happy that he’d come on board, and without giving to much away.
There’s just a connection I felt with him that you’ll also feel with Gemma and her father. She’s not at odds with her father. She’s allied with her father.
M&C: I heard recently that you sung a few songs on the show. Are we likely to see an SOA CD at some point featuring you and other performers from the show?
Katey Sagal: I would think so. I know that you can buy a lot of the soundtrack music on iTunes already, and I’m not quite sure if there’s talk of an EP. I’m not quite sure where that is in the process, but I would not be surprised.
I think that it would probably be a good idea.
M&C: Moving back to the relationship questions could you talk a little about the friendship Gemma has with Sheriff Unser (Dayton Callie), because that’s another one of those relationships that has got a lot of play in season two, and I’m wondering what your take is on it.
Katey Sagal: Well, I think that he’s kind of a big brother in a way. You know Gemma is from Charming, and so is Unser. So there are a few characters that she’s known since she was a kid.
The real mythology is that she left Charming, and came back, and brought a Motorcycle gang with her. So, Unser has known her since she was a kid, and has seen her rebellious side, and her struggles. I think he feels very paternal towards her because she doesn’t have her parents anymore in Charming. I think it’s like a brother - sister kind of thing. I think she looks to him for strength. You know, and they have a strong bond from knowing each other for most of their lives.
M&C: A favorite scene involving Gemma is when she tries to shoot AJ Weston (Henry Rollins,) and she is hiding in the chemical toilets, and finds that she just can’t go through with it. When she hears him talking to his kid. That for me was a really powerful scene, and I wondered what sort of preparation you did for this?
Katey Sagal: I relate very much to Gemma’s maternal instincts, and I think Gemma’s conflict in season two is a lot about forgiveness, and a lot about her coming through a spiritual crisis.
At the end of season two she kills somebody, and she’s never done that before. That’s the first time, and she admits to that. The conflict about actually taking someone’s life and particularly someone who is a parent is just very difficult for Gemma. She cannot really wrap her brain around that.
M&C: You have a lot of guest stars coming on this season. Hal Holbrook, which we’ve already mentioned is a great addition. I’m just wondering is there anyone else coming on the show that you are particularly excited to work with.
Katey Sagal: Yes, we have quite a few. Did you guys watch Deadwood?
M&C: Yes, we did.
Katey Sagal: Well, we have quite a few people from Deadwood, that was my husband’s favorite show. We have Paula Malcomson, James Cosmos who’s really fabulous and Stephen King makes a cameo appearance, and that’s all I know right now.
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In closing:
It was Katey Sagal and her portrayal of a strong woman, who would literally drag herself through hell to protect those she loves that got me hooked on this series. I’ve known a few women like that in my life, and feel that much richer for that.
However, what “Sons of Anarchy” really does well is put a mirror up against human nature and illustrates both the dark and the light side. For example, we have Jax who has killed twice that we know of. Yet deep down in his heart, he is struggling to find a better path for the club. One that is less dangerous, and less likely to get those around him killed.
We have Clay, who is stuck in his ways, and is reluctant to embrace any changes that will in his eyes harm or close the club. Then we have Gemma who is trying to walk the fine line, and help facilitate some sort of compromise that they can all live with.
Bottom line being: Gemma will do just about anything to keep the family and the club together. I would also be remiss not to admit that I love anything where we get to see Harley’s and bikers.
Growing up in the ‘burbs. I’ve always been fascinated by motorcycles and always wondered what it be like to just have the freedom to pick up and ride off into the sunset. Unfortunately, being an epileptic. I can never really have that dream. So instead I live vicariously through shows like “Sons of Anarchy”, which give some insight into the lifestyle, and shows not only the up sides, but the low points as well.
