It’s been more than a year now since Jax Teller and the rest of the gang from Sons of Anarchy rode off into the sunset (or straight into an 18-wheeler), but there is still hope for more television from that particular universe. There’s a Mayan spin-off still in the works, which Sons showrunner Kurt Sutter may or may not be involved with as showrunner, and there’s still the possibility that Sutter may resurrect the Sons of Anarchy prequel.
Until then, however, we’ll just have to live on Sons nostalgia. For instance, Reddit unearthed an image of Clay Morrow from the original pilot, before Ron Perlman got involved in the show. As many Sons‘ fans already know, Morrow was originally played by brilliant character actor Scott Glenn, who you can see here from the original pilot standing next to Tommy Flanagan, who played Chibs.
For those wondering why Scott Glenn was re-cast, Ron Perlman — who eventually landed the role — explained it to Terry Gross a couple of months ago on Fresh Air.
PERLMAN: I did have to audition for [Sons of Anarchy]. They had already shot the pilot with another actor playing Clay Morrow. And the network decided that they weren’t getting what they were hoping to get and that they were willing to — they loved the series enough to — if they thought they found the right actor, they were willing to reshoot the pilot and start – restart the clock and green light the show for a whole first season, which is 13 episodes.
GROSS: Did you have any idea what the original actor had done wrong that they thought was not quite right for the part?
PERLMAN: The original actor is a brilliant actor. I won’t mention his name, but he’s — I’m a huge fan of his. But he’s a very subtle guy. And he has a very kind of a quiet, understated presence about him, which, in terms of this particular guy, Clay Morrow, they were looking for way more dynamic. They were looking for higher highs and lower lows and a lot of very, very kind of…
GROSS: Volatility?
PERLMAN: … Resonance, yeah. So I understood going into it that, you know — that they were looking for a more operatic version of this guy. And it just so happened — you know, I happened to be free that week.
As great an actor as Scott Glenn is, Sutter obviously made the right choice in recasting the role. Sons wouldn’t have been nearly the show it was without the presence of Perlman. Scott Glenn, meanwhile, has been doing terrific work of late on Daredevil and The Leftovers.
(Via Fresh Air and Instagram via Nerdcoremovement)
