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By
Suzanne

Interview with Jimmy Smits of
"Sons of Anarchy" on FX
11/8/12
It was awesome to speak to Jimmy Smits. He is one of my
favorite actors and was so nice on the interview.
Final Transcript
FX NETWORK: Sons of Anarchy
November 8, 2012/12:00 p.m. CST
SPEAKERS
Stephanie Kelly
Jimmy Smits
PRESENTATION
Moderator Welcome to the conference call with Jimmy Smits of
Sons of Anarchy. At this time, all participants are in a
listen-only mode. Later we will conduct a question and
answer session. As a reminder, this conference is being
recorded.
I would now like to turn the conference over to your host,
Ms. Stephanie Kelly.
Stephanie Hi everyone. Thanks so much for participating in
the conference call with Jimmy Smits. He plays Nero Padilla
on Sons of Anarchy. That airs Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m.,
only on FX. I’m filling in for Christie today, as she is
under the weather. So if there is no further delay, we will
go ahead and get started and I’ll open up to questions for
Jimmy. Thanks very much.
Moderator Our first question comes from the line of Lena
Lamoray. Please state your media outlet and then your
question.
Lena Lena Lamoray.com. Now can you talk a bit about filming
love scenes with Katie while being directed by Kurt?
Jimmy No. No, no, I didn’t have any love scenes that Kurt
actually directed. Kurt only directed the final—Kurt is the
creator of the show, and he writes ….
Lena Yes.
Jimmy You guys are all …. Yes. He only directed the last
episode this particular season and .... There was like a
kissy-kissy thing, but no. He had to deal with it in the
editing bay.
Lena Yes. That’s kind of what I was talking about. Now how
about the scene where Wanda’s character holds a gun to Nero
and Gemma? Was that a bit awkward to film?
Jimmy Awkward in the sense of what? What do you mean?
Lena Because she’s your partner in real life—so was that
weird?
Jimmy I mean, we’re professional actors. That’s what we do.
I mean, it was—yes, in the beginning there was—the first
time maybe that we rehearsed it or something it was a little
strange but actually was—in a way, I thought it was really
cool because the trust quotient is much higher because we
all have another layer going on.
I mean, I think we were able to hit, as actors, emotional
chords in that particular scene, some of which is on the
editing floor. But be that as it may, we were able to hit
some kind of emotional chords that—because of those
relationships there.
Moderator Our next question comes from the line of Earl
Dittman. Please state your media outlet and your question.
Earl Jimmy, it’s Earl Dittman from Wireless Digital Journal.
First off, I have to say you’re doing a great job. I’m so
glad you’re on SOA. I was the biggest fan of West Wing, of
NYPD Blue—everything else. It was just great to see you out
there working in great shows.
Jimmy Appreciate that.
Earl But yesterday I did kind of a little experiment. I went
on the Sons of Anarchy net thing and mentioned that I was
talking to you today just to see what the—gauge what people
were asking, and actually those were two of the questions
the person right in front of me asked—two of the questions
I’ve got.
But they have a really—
Jimmy Oh, you’re going to blame it on the …. That’s kind of
like my editor really wanted to know this. That means
they’re going to be very hard questions. What are the
questions?
Earl No, no, no. I was just going to let you know that more
than anything else, what they were saying was that they
expressed that—they have a really intense—out of all of the
shows I’ve covered, they have a really intense, loyal
following, this series—SOA, Sons of Anarchy.
Jimmy Oh, yes.
Earl They are just passionate. I’ve been on there a couple
of times and I thought, “Oh my gosh. These people will talk
for hours about a scene or this or that.” It’s incredible.
Jimmy I haven’t been on the site, but I’ve heard that. I’ve
really heard that.
Earl You need to check it out. But more than anything else,
they express their love for you and just glad that you’re
back. One of the things says, “I loved Jimmy Smits all the
way back to L.A. Law and … Bobby Simone,” things like that.
They just are glad that you’re on the show and it’s intense.
But back to real questions: What first drew you to the role?
What was it about it that made you want to play Nero?
Jimmy Well, we didn’t know what the role was. In the
beginning it was more about a vibe that I had with Kurt
after meeting with him a couple of times. Paris Barclay, who
is an executive and does a lot of the directing of a lot of
the Sons episodes, is somebody that I know from NYPD Blue.
He was one of the core directors there, and he did pretty
much all of the final episodes that the Simone character was
involved in. So we go way back, and we did the history
there.
It so happened last year that the DGA, the Director’s Guild
of America was doing a tribute for him, and because of that
they invited a number of different people from all of the
wonderful shows that he’s participated in—In Treatment that
he was involved with and Blue and of course Sons.
So it was at that time that we were up there on the dais
speaking about Paris that—you know, people know each other
in the business, but they really don’t. You see each other
at the award shows and stuff and we talked. The only person
besides Paris that I have a comfort level with is Ron
Perlman that I worked with on a couple of movies in the
past. Ron is a really cool guy.
But Wanda and myself and Katie and Kurt, we spent a couple
of minutes talking and—I think in a way it was out of that
that the call came from Kurt that he wanted to know if I
would sit down with him and just explore the possibility
of—he had an idea for an arc.
At that time, I think he was formulating what he was going
to do for the season and what he necessitated in terms of
the spokes of the wheel of the show. So we had two or three
lunch meetings. I went to his office, took me around to the
set, and just started vibing [sic] about what the show
needed and a character that he was interested in exploring.
That’s the way it all started. That first script wasn’t
really written yet, but he had it in his head. So basically,
that’s how it happened. We were fans of the show, and like
you said, it does have a really loyal, core base following
that are very passionate about the show. It’s not just
people that are into motorcycles. It’s this whole
outlaw—it’s a very passionate following.
It’s a kind of industry darling. A lot of people in our
business are into the show. Like I said, I check in with a
lot of different shows during the year. I watch the
beginning episodes, and I’ll check in during the middle and
usually see finales and stuff, but Wanda was—she was like a
die-hard fan of the show probably because the fact that
Kurt—besides the grittiness of the show, he writes very
strong women characters.
So when that call came in and Kurt wanted to talk, she was
like, “You’ve got to do this. You’ve got to do this. I mean,
you’ve seen the show, but you don’t know what happened.” So
we started watching that third season, which is when
the—tell me if I’m going on too long.
Earl No, no, no.
Jimmy But you know, the third season where they did the
whole Irish storyline, I think the show just jumped into
another gear, you know, and it just struck me that the show
is very, very cinematic in a way. They’re able to do these
wonderful things and have a—that very iconic thing of
outlaws.
It’s almost like a Western—like watching a Western in a lot
of ways. So that was the whole beginnings of our
conversations. There was a comfort level there because of
Paris and Ron, and I’m very happy that it all—it’s all
worked out the way it has.
Earl We’re very happy that it worked out too.
Jimmy I love those guys. They really are a very, very, very
tight family. Without going into a lot of detail, that whole
thing that happened with Opie’s character, it was—and I’m
looking—I’m from the outside just trying to do my job there.
It was not only what was filmed, but it was very emotional
for that group during the read-throughs and those couple of
weeks when those decisions were made and stuff like that.
They’re a very, very tight group that have dynamics, like
every family, and I’m just very—I’m proud to have worked on
it this season and given a little contribution there. And
there it is.
Earl Well, I know I can’t—I’m going to let you go now, but I
know I can’t ask it because you probably can’t tell me, but
I hope you make it out to next season. But I guess we’ll
find out one way or the other.
Jimmy Yes. You’ll find out soon enough. There’s a turn that
happens, so we’ll see.
Moderator Our next question comes from the line of Suzanne
Lanoue. Please state your media outlet.
Suzanne I’m Suzanne Lanoue from The TV MegaSite. I have to
echo what Earl said about being a big fan of yours since
back to L.A. Law.
Jimmy Oh. Thanks. Thanks, Earl, and thank you very much,
Suzanne. I appreciate it.
Suzanne I really liked the one where you played the judge,
and I was so mad when they canceled that.
Jimmy Oh. Okay. Well, there’s got to be a—you get up at bat
just like being a sports player. You get up at bat, and
sometimes—you know.
Suzanne I just thought that was such a great role for you
and everything. But you know, you went on to some other good
roles. You were great in Dexter and in Sons so, you know. I
know how that is. So can you talk a little bit about your
character’s relationship with Jax, which I’ve enjoyed ….
Jimmy With Jax?
Suzanne Yes.
Jimmy Well, just in those conversations that I’ve had with
Kurt, I think that—you know, one of the things that’s great
about the show is that it has this kind of—I mean, I think
Kurt’s made—if you guys have talked to him before, besides
these kind of archetypal images, there’s almost like a
classic thing going on. It’s almost like Hamlet.
It’s like you’re watching a production of Hamlet play out
because there’s this—you have insights into this group that
you’re not really—you don’t really know about them. They’re
not like doctors or cops and stuff. It’s a world you don’t
really know that much, and there’s a hierarchy of power and
all of that, and there’s people that are vying for power,
and there’s families and stuff. It’s a lot like Hamlet in a
lot of ways.
If you know Hamlet, there’s a character named Horatio, who’s
kind of like—he’s on the side kind of like helping Hamlet
try to decipher all of these feelings that he’s having. I
think that there are a number of different Horatios in the
scheme of the Sons world. Opie played that in a way.
This year you had—I think what Kurt was doing is that he has
Harold’s character, the Pope character, and this Nero
character both vying in their way at Jax’s dilemma of where
he is going to take this group, and they have different ways
of how to deal with power, how to get what you need and move
on.
Nero is much more about—as Kurt talks about it—the exit
strategy. How do you—in a world that’s gritty and on, some
might say, the wrong side of the law—how do you maneuver and
get on the straight and narrow for your family? So I think
that Nero character with regards to Jax, he operates in that
sphere as a mentor, as a friend, as a bro—you know what I
mean? All of those things.
Now it’s going to take a turn, and—
Suzanne It always does.
Jimmy Yes. It always does in Kurt’s world. It always does.
He kind of blows up a lot of things on purpose to keep the
characters totally off-kilter so they can go on to the next
decision. So that’s what’s been going on in these past—last
episodes that we’ve been shooting before the end of the
season.
Moderator Next question comes from the line of Carla Day.
Please state your media outlet.
Carla I’m Carla from Buddy TV. Can you talk a little bit
about Nero’s decision to want to stay with Gemma even though
Jax told him to stay away, and there’s also her husband in
the picture now. So what is the draw to him for wanting to
be with Gemma?
Jimmy Well, I think that he operates pretty much—I don’t
think he gets told a lot what to do by anybody. In that kind
of outlaw mentality, that’s a kind of wrong—the definite
wrong approach to outright just say you can’t do something
like that. You’ll always go for, “Why can’t I,” or, “Watch
me do this,” or, “Watch me do it the way I want to do it. I
want to have my cake, and I want to be able to eat it too.”
So I think that that’s kind of operating on some level.
I think at the end of season four was—and just what I
alluded to before—Kurt as a writer just mixes things up and
then blows … up at the end, literally and figuratively, for
all of his characters. At the end of season four, you saw
the Gemma character very much wandering without a handle to
grasp onto. So I think that on some level with the
introduction of Nero it helps to right her in a certain way.
Carla Can you talk a little bit about the Lovebirds?
Jimmy Yes. Other than the fact that when I saw, “Oh my gosh,
birds again.” It’s like Bobby Simone with birds, and now
we’ve got Lovebirds. It is a kind of theme that—didn’t they
have birds? Didn’t the … have birds too? I remember seeing a
birdcage in there.
Carla Yes.
Jimmy Yes. So I don’t know if it’s a continuation of that,
but it just popped into the script.
Moderator Our next question comes from the line of Michael
Gallagher. Please state your media outlet.
Mike It’s Mike Gallagher from stayfamous.net. Have there
been any moments on Sons of Anarchy when you saw a
particular performance or a scene and thought, “This is
really great television, something that could hold its own
against any show or movie out there?”
Jimmy I think what I referenced before about what I saw in
season three, which really cemented for me that the show had
jumped to a different gear with that whole—for lack of a
better word, the whole Irish storyline that was introduced
and when they went to Belfast. That whole back and forth was
really quite intricate.
A lot of it, I thought that they were in Ireland for real. I
was believing that they were somewhere else, and a lot of it
was shot here. They did go and do some skeleton work to do
exteriors out there, but that was really quite, quite
wonderful—Titus Welliver, who’s a friend from NYPD Blue
days, and now he came in and did a wonderful job with them.
The performances there were very, very intricate by everyone
involved, and jacked up the storyline to another kind of
level.
Some of this stuff that Ryan—Ryan, I have a lot of respect
for him as an actor, and the kind of scenes that I saw,
prior to jumping on board, between him and Jax
character—what Charlie does—were very, very special. Just
the grittiness of the show, the grittiness of the show just
sold me 100%, and I think that it—like you say—it can go up
against any film or TV show out there.
Mike Last question: Do you have a message for the fans of
the show? Is there anything you would like to say to them?
Jimmy Keep watching. We’re so very, very happy that this
season that loyal fan base that has been around has grown
exponentially. To hear all of the wonderful things that we
have around the table when we’re reading new scripts or out
there in the grittiness of the motorcycle deserts riding
around with—when the guys are riding around, that fan base
has increased, and the numbers have increased exponentially.
The show has grown even more popular, so everybody’s really
happy with that. With that comes a kind of responsibility
not only to that loyal fan base, but to the new folks that
are around that are watching it to keep on doing it. So
you’ve got to keep—everybody’s conscious of we’ve got to
keep upping the ante and keep raising the bar.
Moderator Our next question comes from the line of Jerry
Nunn. Please state your media outlet.
Jerry It’s Jerry from Gozamos in Chicago. I want to know
what’s the ethnic background of Nero, and are you similar to
him in some ways?
Jimmy Am I similar to him in some ways? Well, he’s from
California. He makes references to his family that he has an
uncle in what is Brdo, which is San Bernardino, so that’s
kind of like the southern, inland empire area of Los
Angeles, but the show is based in northern California. I
think what we’ve—because where you get sent in terms of the
penal system, which has to do a lot with his background—he
spent a lot of time in the penal system. So he’s from
California and I’m not from California originally.
Jerry Right. So how did you find common ground with him?
Jimmy I found the common ground like I do with a lot of
different characters. The research for me is probably just
as fascinating as being on-set doing work every day. Those
couple of months when Kurt and I were talking, I dug up my
mi familia files because it’s kind of like revisiting that
particular character maybe 15, 17 years later.
I went to interview people who were involved in motorcycle
clubs—Latino motorcycle clubs—and spoke to a number of what
we call …—so people who have been involved in the—been in
the penal system who are now trying to be on the straight
and narrow like that particular character—and just talked
about stories that they’ve encountered and the lore that
they have, and what tattoos mean when you have a—because
your body is kind of like a board of your past.
Things like that, those things flesh out a character’s life
in a lot of ways. You hear stuff and you’re able to—you have
to be like a sponge and use what you can and how it relates
because TV is kind of fluid, and things change on a
week-to-week basis.
But those are the things that I do with every character. If
I’m involved in a boxing movie, I’m going to see fights and
learning about boxing. It’s part of what we do.
Jerry Well, I sure … that you have a good grasp on the
character. Thanks so much. You’ve got to come visit us … in
Chicago.
Jimmy Well, I’m going to be there before you know it.
Jerry Okay.
Jimmy No, no, really. The next thing I’m doing after
Thanksgiving I start rehearsal for a play in Steppenwolf, so
I’ll be there.
Jerry Oh my gosh.
Jimmy Yes. I’m going to be there the whole winter actually.
Jerry Great. Well ….
Jimmy Come visit and come say hi, okay?
Jerry I will definitely. Thanks, Jimmy.
Moderator Our next question comes from the line of Terri
Schwartz. Please state your media outlet.
Terri I’m with Spinoff Online. I just want to say, like
everyone else, really excited to have you come on the show,
but I just got the sense when we first met Nero that maybe
we weren’t seeing the whole side of the story, and so far
he’s proven to be a good guy, and he seems to be good for
them and everything. But I’m wondering, you said there’s a
twist coming, so is Nero maybe more than meets the eye?
Jimmy Well, you’ve heard something about his past, the
little things that he’s talked about, and I think if you
watched those last episodes, he’s revealed a little bit more
about what his past is and where he’s come from. You know
that he has been involved in the penal system prior to that.
So there’s that potential that’s there. So it’s a
springboard for that. Again, I’m going to go back to what I
think is Kurt’s strong suit in terms of writing is that he
lays the groundwork and then just mixes it up, blows it
up—however you want to put it—so that nothing is what it
really seems.
It’s definitely going to take a turn. You can’t have this
guy that’s this ex-gangbanger not see a little bit of that
come out. So it’s going to—yes. It’s going to turn.
Terri I’ve been on the edge of my seat in all of those
scenes. Even though they’re so good, I’m just like, “Oh my
gosh. Something bad is going to happen. It can’t be Sons of
Anarchy if something bad doesn’t happen.”
Jimmy That’s what we always feel when we get that first
draft of the script. Before you open it up, it’s like, “We
know something bad is going to happen, and who’s going to
take the bullet? What’s in his mind this week?”
Terri Right.
Jimmy But that’s good. That’s what keeps it fresh in a lot
of ways.
Terri Yes. Absolutely. I’m also curious, I mean, you’ve had
a lot of scenes, and you’ve had a lot of scenes with Katie,
but are there any other actors on the show that you wish you
had more screen time with or any actors that you will have
more screen time with in upcoming episodes?
Jimmy Well again, go back to what I said a couple of people
ago is I’m sorry that I didn’t really get to do some work
with Ryan because I really, really, really have great
respect for what he’s done as an actor prior to the show,
and how constant he was on Sons, and how much of a rock he
was in so many ways. So there’s a kind of letdown there that
we didn’t really get to do anything.
I’ve got people that I know like Danny Trejo and Benito that
I’ve known—Benito I’ve known for year. I keep looking at
them wondering—or Emilio’s character. Emilio was one of the
people that I went to talk to about gang stuff when I first
got the job. I mean, I can’t wait to be able to do scenes
with him.
And of course Harold P., my Brooklyn buddy—we’re both from
Brooklyn, so we look at each other and go, “When is Brooklyn
going to be on the set …” you know? They’re a bunch of great
people out there.
Terri Awesome. Well, I hope to see you with all of them.
Then I had a question just because I have you here right
now. It doesn’t really have anything to do with Sons.
Jimmy All good.
Terri You’ve been a big part of the Star Wars universe with
the prequels, and I’m just curious what your thoughts on the
Disney purchases and if you think that you’ll maybe try and
be involved in the new movies?
Jimmy Wow. You know, that’s interesting because I had—my
kids were the ones that told me. They started texting me
because they—I don’t know. They must be on blog sites or
something about that.
You know, congratulations to George, because that we a
mega-deal. It’s great that it will live on in a different
kind of incarnation. He built that in so many ways, and not
only built that franchise, but because of that—the success
of the franchise—he was able to do so much for the film
industry really.
This whole thing about digitalization—one of those films
that I worked on was the prototypes of that HD camera was
something that we were using. So he pushed the envelope in
so many technical ways, not only with regard to the film
industry. He’s got a lot of balls that he’s juggling, so
it’s a good thing that he was able to find a way to pass
that franchise on.
Of course, it should—I mean, there are more stories to tell,
of course, I think. You look at the 007 franchise, and it’s
gone on for 40 years. There are a lot of people that have
grown up watching that, so I know that he didn’t just pass
that on without a lot of caveats. There will be involvement
with George down the line. As far as me is concerned, my
character was gone after—episode whatever—but if they want
to call, let them call.
Terri You never know what they can do in the future, right?
Jimmy Right. Exactly—or the past. However they decide to go.
Thanks though.
Moderator Our next question comes from the line of Lisa
Macklem. Please state your media outlet.
Lisa It’s Lisa Macklem. I’m with SpoilerTV. I think you’ve
kind of answered some of these, but I’m going to see if I
can get a little more information out of you. So I also went
to the fans and asked them for questions, so these are
coming from them. One of the things they were really
interested in is whether or not Nero’s legitimate business
is actually going to be the escape for the club that Jax
wants it to be, and should that blow up if Nero is going to
end up coming to blows with the Sons?
Jimmy Okay. Should it blow up if Nero comes to blow—what was
the second part of the question?
Lisa If everything sort of blows up—as it looks like it may
happen—is Nero going to end up coming to blows with the Sons
then—and Jax in particular.
Jimmy I’m not going to be able to talk about that because
Kurt—I know you have probably have talked to Kurt before. He
is very—there are a lot of caveats when you even talk to any
kind of media outlet about not talking too much about the
future of what happens story-wise. You know that he’s going
to mix it up, and things are going to blow up.
I can’t be more specific about that with regards to … and
that whole business. I mean, it’s safe to say that I think
that what we’ve seen so far, it’s a pretty sure bet that the
club is going to find this is a financial gain for them.
Lisa Okay, here’s one I bet you can answer. How badly do you
want to ride one of those bikes?
Jimmy Oh man, you know—okay, so we just talked about George
Lucas, so I’ll segue like this. So when I first had my first
conversation with George, it was like, “He’s going to talk
to you. He’s going to call you on the phone and he’ll talk.”
So the conversation was kind of like, “I really like your
work, and I’ve watched you before, and I would like you to
join our family. But this conversation is not going to
continue unless you are cool with the fact that there will
not be a lightsaber involved in the conversation.” So that’s
the way we started that.
So similarly with Kurt, that was the whole deal. If you were
listening before, I went to this thing for Paris, and then
we had these great little tete-a-tete social things with
Kurt and Katie and Ron and all that group. Then I got this
call about—Kurt wants to have a sit-down with you.
I was like, “Okay, when is that going to happen?” So they
scheduled a sit-down for a couple of weeks. Like I said,
Wanda is a big fan of the show and was like, “You’ve got to
get—if this is about a job, you’ve got to get into this.” So
the first thing I did was I started doing my motorcycle
research, and I got my motorcycle license.
So I’m riding with my stand-in, who’s been my stand-in for
20 years, and I’m getting myself all geared up for this, and
we have this … to talk to Kurt. Much the same way as the
Lucas thing he was like—we can talk about Paris’s thing, and
he’s always been a fan, and likewise I love the work that he
did on The Shield. He was like, “Okay, so before we continue
this conversation, know that we’re not talking about bikes.”
And I’m like, “Oh no. I just got my license.”
But who knows, a Vespa might be in Nero’s future. Who knows?
Albeit to say—to be honest about this thing, I knew that
there wasn’t going to be any—that bikes weren’t going to be
involved with regards to this character. But in my heart,
I’ve been riding and that’s just the actor in me.
If I’m going to be in a Western—even if I’m going to be
riding the stagecoach wagon, I’m going to learn about horses
just in case somebody says one day, “You know, maybe if Nero
got on one of the bikes that fell,” and then I’m going,
“Duh. Duh. I can’t ride. I don’t know how to ride.” So I’m
ready. If it happens, I’m ready—even for the Vespa I’ll be
ready.
Lisa Next season.
Jimmy I’ll be ready.
Lisa I know you can’t say, but hopefully next season that
can start with you riding it.
Jimmy Wow. That was like a trick thing. Kurt would be on me.
Moderator Our next question comes from the line of Mandy
Bierly. Please state your media outlet.
Mandy This is Mandy from EW.com. I’m not going to press you
for spoilers, but I’m hoping—you’ve talked about this turn
coming with Nero. Can you say is that going to be this next
episode; are we talking very soon; or will we have to wait a
little while longer for that?
Jimmy It’s coming.
Mandy It’s coming like as in next week?
Jimmy I’m not as up on the—the season is kind of like a blur
to me right now. I remember the birds with this past week,
right?
Mandy Right. Yes.
Jimmy So it’s coming. It’s coming soon. You know, little
hints of it—it’s coming.
Mandy Okay. I was sort of curious, I mean, we’ve seen Gemma
and Nero talk so openly and easily, like in the playground
scene with his son, and then I loved the scene in the
cemetery, which was really romantic in a weird way when they
were walking out holding hands.
Jimmy Yes.
Mandy It sort of then was puzzling to me like she—I feel
like maybe she could’ve trusted him and told him about what
she had to do with Clay—like why she had to take those days
off from Nero. In your mind, why isn’t she sort of being
open with him about what she has to do with Clay at this
time?
Jimmy Because I think that it traverses the bounds even of
this new, budding relationship that she feels comfortable
with. I mean, I think that they still have …, but those are
deep, deep, deep wounds that go back prior to even the
beginning of what the fans know about the show. That goes
back to the original …, right?
Mandy Yes.
Jimmy Yes, I think that’s probably one of the reasons why
she hasn’t gone that far. You want to open—you’ve got to
open these things up like an artichoke. It’s got to be
little by little.
Mandy Right. Okay. Can you just sort of talk more about your
approach to Nero, because just like whenever she was asking
him, “Are we seeing each other?" And then the way you said,
“I see you, Gemma,” so sincere and so earnest. It sort of
makes us fall in love with him, which then I think will be
the payoff whenever he does this turn. It’s going to hit us
even harder. How have you made him just so decent?
Jimmy Well you know, in the framework of all of these
people’s lives—people don’t walk around thinking of
themselves as bad people, as bad guys. You’re part of the
environment that you grow up in, the socialization, and in
that there can be decency. I always try to find a little
glimmer of that in anything that I do because I think that
those little glimmers, finding places where there’s humor or
lightness in something that’s deep and profound, it tends to
resonate more and makes people more human.
I think as an actor and a performer, I think that resonates
more with the audience when you do have the turn and the
payoff. So I’m always—it’s great to be able to play the “bad
guy” role because you get—you always get a lot to do. But
I’m always looking at the why. How does a person get to that
particular point.
It’s those little cogs in the wheel that make it interesting
for me to play. Ultimately, I hope for the audience to be
engaged with it, because it is going to take a turn. That’s
going to happen. That’s part of the schematic of the show,
right. So hopefully the audience will understand why. When
you talk about things like violence and all of that, which
are guideposts for this particular series, you understand
it’s kind of justified more.
Mandy Yes.
Jimmy I hope that answers.
Mandy Yes. It does. We have seen Nero’s excellent driving
skills, which was a very fun scene to watch, but can you
tease are we going to see any of his—you mentioned the
violence or the turn—is that going to involve any kind of
signature move for Nero? Will we find out more of what he’s
capable of?
Jimmy Signature moves?
Mandy Yes.
Jimmy I think weaponry will be involved.
Moderator We have a question from the line of Earl Dittman.
Please state your media outlet.
Earl I have to say I’ve loved some of those—the bicycle one
is great. I absolutely love that. But I was going to ask
you, are you interested in going back on doing series
television or series cable, because I know you’ve done some
things off and on, and I always thought after the West
Wing—it made a great series to have you as a president, but
of course West Wing got canceled. Do you have any desires or
are you looking into feature films, or just whatever comes
along?
Jimmy Whatever comes along. Yes. I mean, I’m getting ready
to go and do a play now, and pilot season will be coming up
in January. I’m always sitting down and talking to people
that are doing independent features and stuff. It depends on
the project and the quotient of the people that are
involved. It’s for a lot of different reasons—a particular
script that resonates with me in a particular way, maybe not
so much even the part but what the script has to say.
What I really like doing more than anything is …, and you
have to know that this has to do with what comes on your
plate because I don’t—it’s not like I get to pick and choose
every single thing that I want to—there are a lot of doors
that still get shut, and there are a lot of walls to still
breach on a lot of different ways. But the stuff that does
come across to me or stuff that I hear about or read about
that I’m willing to go out there and fight for or audition—I
still have to go audition and do all of that. I do have a
certain leeway to choose from that group what I want to say
as an artist.
In this particular circumstance, I love the fact that this
particular show allows me to mix it up in a different way
than TV audiences have seen me before. So that’s good. Yes.
Earl The only reason I mention it is because—do you have any
pet projects? You mentioned Hamlet; I can only imagine a
great Latino version of Hamlet. I don’t know. That just
popped in my head.
Jimmy Well, let’s do it Earl. You see, I’m writing this down
right now. We’re going to go to a pitch meeting—me and Earl
at a pitch meeting.
Earl Call me when you’re ready. I’m ready to roll. But do
you have any pet projects or any characters you really want
to play on screen or something that it’s just kind of—?
Jimmy Earl, for me it’s just about doing good work and
working with good people and keep mixing it up and keep the
versatility happening.
Moderator There are no more questions in queue.
Stephanie Great. Thank you. I just wanted to thank everyone
again for participating in the call, and a transcript will
be available in the next few days, so we will send that your
way once we receive.
Thanks again, and don’t forget to tune into Sons of Anarchy
Tuesdays at 10:00 on FX.
Moderator Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our
conference for today. Thank you for your participation and
for using AT&T Executive Teleconference Service.
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