Author: Emma Loggins
Date: 2008-08-22

Interview:
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Katey Sagal of FX's newest series Sons Of Anarchy. Here's what she had to say about the new series, Futurama, and her personal television interests:

With this role being specifically written for you, does that make a difference going into it? How is it different having it with you in mind when it was created?

K. Sagal: When my husband came to me and said he had written me a part, he didn't actually tell me what the part was. I knew that he was writing a show in the world of outlaw motorcycle clubs and I knew she was the mother of the lead character, but that was all I really knew. I don't know that it was necessarily inspired by me, but when he says that he sort of tailor made it to me, I'm not quite sure what he meant by that.

Once you see her, you'll kind of think, "Huh?" Gemma is a fiercely loyal mother not only to her son, but also to her sort of family of club members. They're kind of this counter-culture group, and she is the matriarch of that group. In my personal life, I'm a pretty fiercely loyal mother, but I don't practice the same ways and means as Gemma does.

As a follow-up to that, can you just tell us a little bit about what we can expect from Gemma as the series goes on? The descriptions sound like you're fiercely loyal and—I can't remember what the word was—vicious.

K. Sagal: 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.

How much did you know about motorcycle gangs or clubs before signing on?

K. Sagal: I knew a little bit. When I was in my 20s, I definitely kind of ran with a fast crowd. Some of that involved people with bikes. I don't know very much about the actual club situation. I've learned a lot since then, but I didn't have a lot of real experience, per se, no.

How true to the storyline are you finding these episodes to reality? Maybe it wasn't this crazy when you used to run with the crowds, but are you finding it pretty true to life?

K. Sagal: I never ran with a real motorcycle club. I want that to be made clear. I just had a lot of boyfriends with bikes, let's put it that way. From what I've now learned of this world and how the show is being formed, it's really true to life. They have their own kind of code, and they have a lot of rules and regulations within their club. They're like their own little society. The families are very close and the guys are really bonded, so there seems to be a lot of reality to it. Certainly some of the goings on are not true to what exactly happens, but I don't know.

Right. Was this based on a Hell's Angels type thing?

K. Sagal: You'd have to talk to my husband about that, because I don't know how much it's based on that. I'm not sure how much is loosely based or actually based.