Katey Sagal on Her New ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Role

On Wednesday, September 3, FX will premiere its latest original series, a drama called Sons of Anarchy about a California-based motorcycle club. Former Married with Children and 8 Simple Rules star Katey Sagal, plays club and family matriarch Gemma Teller Morrow.

Her fellow cast members include Charlie Hunnam (Undeclared, Queer as Folk) as Gemma’s son Jackson “Jax” Teller and Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as her husband Clarence “Clay” Morrow, along with Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos), Mark Boone Junior (3 Days of Night), Kevin Chapman (Brotherhood), Johnny Lewis (The O.C.), Taylor Sheridan (Veronica Mars), and Maggie Siff (Mad Men).

Created, written, and executive-produced by Sagal’s husband Kurt Sutter, also of FX’s police drama The Shield, the series follows the motorcycle club, with an emphasis on the character Jax, a thirty-something new father who has hard decisions ahead related to the increasing lawlessness of other club members, to whom he feels deeply loyal.

During a recent interview, Sagal spoke in-depth about Jax’s mother, Gemma, and what the character is all about as a woman, parent, wife, and influential force in the motorcycle club.

Gemma is a pretty unusual mother in that she’s directly involved in the group in which her son participates in illegal and questionable activities. But when asked if she thinks Gemma has conflicted feelings about this situation, Sagal says, “I think she has no conflicted feelings about it. I think that she is all about the club. She’s all about her family. She loves her life and the lifestyle that this has provided for her. She sees nothing wrong with what she does.”

Gemma is also described as being fiercely loyal, to the point of sometimes even becoming vicious. Sagal agrees with that assessment and adds, “Yes, she’s all that. She’s vicious. She’s ferocious. She’s a hard ass. I look at her as a survivor. I look at all of these people. They’ve created their own little world. They all come from their own fragmented lives to kind of come together and form their own family.”

“Whatever her history is, it has left her being somebody that is a fighter. What we can expect is that if she’s at all threatened by any kind of potential for breakup of her family or harm to her son, she will go to any lengths to protect that. You will see that in various forms.”

However, although Gemma is far from perfect, as an extremely protective and loyal mother, she doesn’t perceive her flaws as something that hold her back. “[Gemma] sees nothing wrong with what she does,” Sagal states. “It’s all a means to an end for her and whatever she needs to do. In the pilot, you see her do some pretty harsh things when her son and grandson are threatened and, from her perspective, what needs to be done.”

And Gemma certainly has the type of history with the motorcycle club that would make her feel she has the right to act accordingly in certain situations. Sagal explains that “Gemma has been there since the beginning. The history is that Gemma and her first husband, John Teller, were married when that club was formed. She’s been there, and then Clay also started the club with her previous husband. She’s aware and witness to all the goings on.”

Yet, despite the obvious masculine dynamic underlying the motorcycle club’s identity and activities, Sagal makes one thing clear. “The influence that the women have in that world, and particularly someone like Gemma, is a very overt one actually,” she says. “I don’t think it would be an obvious role over any situation. It’s pretty much a man’s world, but there are always some pretty strong women behind that man’s world.”

In fact, the cast of Sons of Anarchy isn’t as dominated by men as one might assume, given what seems like predominantly masculine themes. “We have great women, though, too, you know,” Sagal points out. “We have Maggie Siff and Drea De Mateo. Taryn Manning [Drive, Hustle & Flow] is there now. She’s doing a four- or five-episode arch. She’s fantastic. So the girls are really strong.”

Sons of Anarchy is also giving Sagal the opportunity to act opposite Hellboy and Beauty and the Beast’s Perlman, which is like putting together the best of two worlds — a respected television star and movie star or, if you prefer, a respected comedy star and superhero/fantasy star.

Sagal reveals that the two thespians have a “very good, intense chemistry.” However, “[t]he important thing about Gemma and Clay, one of the important things, is that they’re a happily married couple. They’re not an uptight married couple. They like each other. They have a lot of passion for each other. It’s a fun relationship. Ron and I have that chemistry together.”

FX’s Sons of Anarchy will air Wednesdays from 10pm–11pm EST during its first season of thirteen episodes.