The Unfiltered Ramblings of a DVR Addict

Last night I was fortunate enough to sit down with Taylor Sheridan, who plays Deputy David Hale on FX’s hit series Sons of Anarchy.  With the season finale airing last week Sons Of Anarchy and it’s surprising ending is still very much on everyone’s mind.  We got a chance to ask him about his character, the show’s cast and creators, where he sees the show going in the future and much more.  Taylor was very amiable and easy going, which was no surprise considering he’s a fellow Texan.

JoeOnTheTube: First off thanks for talking to us.  What was your initial impression of the script for Sons of Anarchy?
Taylor Sheridan: When I read the pilot I thought it was one of the better new pilots out there.  There have been a few others that I read that I felt the same way about like Lost, 24 and Desperate Housewives.  I knew it had the potential to be great.  Johnny Lewis who played Half-Sac is a friend of mine and he showed me the script.  I’d never met Kurt [Sutter] or John Linson the executive producer, but I did know the casting director.

JOTT: What were your first impressions of Kurt Sutter.  I keep up with his blog and his twitter.  He seems kind of intense and aggressive, and I mean that as a compliment.
TS: I think Kurt would take it as a compliment.  Kurt started on The Shield as a staff writer and worked his way up to executive producer.  On that show he really helped create a new model for TV.  I think The Shield is one of the top two or three shows in the past decade.  He’s really uncompromising.  Sons of Anarchy was his idea and his vision.  He knows how the whole story plays out and how it ends.  He’s very communal and let’s actors explore their characters.
JOTT: Do you have any input on your character?
TS: As far as dialogue goes we don’t have any input, but we do as far as the interpretation of that dialogue.  Hale was created to be the bad guy but it felt conflicted to me and that came out in the acting.  That influenced the writing.  We are allowed to cheat a little bit, but it doesn’t happen much because it’s so well written.

Taylor Sheridan, Kurt Sutter, and Adam Arkin on the set of FX's hit show Sons of Anarchy

JOTT: The Character of Hale was much more one dimensional in the first season than in the second season where a lot of his complexities came out.  Is this trend going to continue into next season?
TS: The change really started in season one around episode 10 when Hale was dealing with Stahl and the moral dilemma about what she was doing to Opie.  Hale is dealing with a police force that is largely corrupt and inept.  Next year I expect he’s going to be in a situation of control which could lead to more conflict.  Unser’s career as a cop is most likely over.  The joke on the set is that Unser is the next SAMCRO prospect.

JOTT: What sort of feedback have you gotten from fans on Deputy Hale?  It seems like you are in a strange situation.  It’s not often that you find a story where people are rooting against the honest cop and for the criminals.
TS: In season one Hale was hated until Stahl showed up.  The feedback has become much more positive as the show and the character become more popular.  Kurt does a great job at showing both side of all the characters.  He doesn’t really glorify anyone.  The division in the club mirrors the fans.  It means a tremendous amount that the people are so taken by the characters in this show which is essentially a study in grey.

JOTT: When does filming start on season 3, and how long does it take to shoot a full season?
TS: We start again some time in early March.  It takes about 6 months to shoot a full season.  We work six months on and six months off.  It takes about 7 working days to film an episode, sometimes a little more.

JOTT: How much does your character’s role as an outsider, or at least not a member of SAMCRO affect the mood on set?  Do the cops and MC hang out when the cameras aren’t rolling?
TS: There are some groups.  A lot of the guys ride together and stuff like that. But it’s a real close cast.  We are a salty bunch of character actors.    Theo Rossi (who plays Juice) owns a bar close by to the set so we have a lot of dinners there and hang out.  I have a lot of respect for so many of these actors.  I think that Kim Coates (Tig on the show) is one of the best actors working today.

JOTT: Not that Hale’s Bronco isn’t cool, but is there ever some jealously on your part that you aren’t getting to ride a Harley from time to time?
TS: I have a motorcycle in the garage that I never ride so I’m not really jealous.  At the end of season one Harley Davidson gave a bunch of the guys bikes, and I didn’t take one.  Now I would take one of those King Ranch Fords if they are handing them out.

JOTT: In the finale Hale seems a little conflicted about letting Weston go.  He mentions that there is a part of him that would like to see Clay dole out street justice, but he can’t let that happen.  Is there some internal conflict with Hale?
TS: The dilemma for Hale is that that Charming is a small town with big city crime.  He has no freedom to fight it because of Unser.  I think next season we will find out what he can handle and it will be interesting to see.  I think it is important for Kurt that Hale never compromise his morals.

JOTT: Fans were shocked by the finale.  It was so good, yet no one saw that ending coming.  TV just doesn’t end that way.  What was your reaction to the finale?
TS: I was floored by the finale.  It was one of the best episodes of TV I’ve read or seen.  The thing about it was that the situation couldn’t be resolved quickly.  The timeline from the start of season one to the end of season two is only about three months.  To resolve things takes time.  In real life a guy like Zobele would get away.  Kurt was very fourth-right about Half-Sac getting killed, and it was a decision that he and Johnny made together.

JOTT: I first saw you on Veronica Mars a few seasons ago.  On that show you flirted a little more with the opposite side of the law that your character does on SOA.  How was the experience of being on a teen drama like Veronica Mars different from being on a show like SOA?
TS: Veronica Mars was great.  Kristen Bell is just awesome.  She’s still just a girl from outside Detroit who somehow can still keep rooting for the Lions.  My character on Veronica Mars, Danny Boyd was very evil and very dumb.  The character had no subtext.  To prepare I just drank about four Red Bulls and I was ready to go.  The character just wanted whatever was in front of him.  On Sons it is much more layered.  There is more history to take into account for Hale.

JOTT: Well Taylor thank you so much for talking to us.  We really look forward to seeing more of you next season and beyond on Sons of Anarchy.
TS: My pleasure. You’re welcome.  Thanks.

There you go folks.  I hope you enjoyed our interview with Taylor Sheridan.  He’s promised to sit down with us again before season three of Sons of Anarchy starts to talk to us about that season.