'Sons of Anarchy': Think Hamlet on Harleys
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The FX show infuses its look at outlaw motorcycle club culture with Shakespearean overtones.
His kickstand dragged on the pavement, and his mirror was spinning around. Worthless. Even Charlie Hunnam, with the little experience he has riding motorcycles, knows a road hazard when he rides one, and the beat-up Harley-Davidson fit the bill.
"This bike's . . .," Hunnam trailed off, eyeing his ride with derision as he pulled off the road, unstrapped his brain bucket and ignited a cigarette.
Hunnam was blurring the lines between his fictional role as a motorcycle miscreant on FX's new outlaw biker drama, “Sons of Anarchy,”#Nav/Homepage and his real life as an actor. He was spending a rare day off from filming to ride the dusty Hollywood hills that double as Charming, Calif., the fictional setting for the show. And he was riding the only bike the producers would let him borrow -- a barely working backup model with a sticker, rather than paint, for the scythe-and-skull tank art. A bike that -- at some point in a future episode -- will be crashed.
'Sons of Anarchy': An article in Sunday's Calendar about FX drama "Sons of Anarchy" said the series shoots in the Hollywood Hills. It shoots in and around North Hollywood.
"Sons of Anarchy": An article last Sunday about the FX drama "Sons of Anarchy" incorrectly said the series shoots in the Hollywood Hills. It is filmed in North Hollywood and the surrounding areas.
Riding skills aside, FX has found a loyal following for its new motorcycle show. "Sons of Anarchy," which debuted in early September, has been among the most consistent first-year dramas for the 14-year-old network. Thanks to its steady weekly audience of about 5 million viewers, the Wednesday night show was picked up for a second season after just four episodes.
Motorcycles, and the outlaw ilk that are drawn to them, have long been fodder in film. But with the exception of various reality shows, they haven't had much play on TV in recent years. When motorcycles do make an appearance on the small screen, they tend to be props -- ridden to make a character look tough or cool, not to drive the plot or give insight into the culture.
"The stereotype most people have of the subculture is usually one of two things: these furry, fuzzy teddy bears like 'Wild Hogs,' or the scumbag white trash living in trailers, smoking meth, which is as inaccurate as the other one," said the show's creator, executive producer Kurt Sutter, who developed the characters and plots by hanging out with "one of the bigger clubs" in Northern California. Which one, he won't say.
