I had the distinct pleasure of meeting up with Kim Coates and Mark Boone Junior, from Sons of Anarchy, at the Northeast Motorcycle Expo in Boston, MA. Kim Coates was hilarious and pretty much exactly like Tig, minus all the lady killing, but I wasn’t with him that long, so who knows what he was up to later that evening. Seriously, Kim and Mark were the best. I watched them sign autographs and take pictures with their fans all day, and I really mean all day. Those honorable men skipped out on their breaks to make sure that all of their fans were happy. I’ve covered several conventions and I have never witnessed honor and dedication like this. These men love their fans, and I can’t even begin to tell you how beautiful it was to watch it all go down. It makes me so proud to support such a great show with a cast this phenomenal. They were treated like rock stars so of course they had their fair share of breasts to sign, but they always did it with a smile. They were even part of a marriage proposal when a man asked his girlfriend onstage to marry him. I could go on forever talking about how sensational these two men were, and how I would like to draft them into my fantasy party team with a couple of other actors that I met that really left a positive mark in my life, Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James.
The Northeast Motorcycle Expo was fantastic so be sure to check out one of their shows. I have to thank them immensely for all that they did for me. Everyone was so helpful. Even if you are not into motorcycles there were several vendors selling official Sons of Anarchy merchandise so you can do what I did and stock up. You know how I was telling you how incredible Kim and Mark were with their fans, well I am certainly one of them and they even stayed after the event was over to allow me to get some of your questions answered. I can’t thank them enough for being so kind.
For those of you that have asked yes, Kim has the bluest eyes ever and you should not look directly into them. His personality is just as hypnotizing as his eyes. I will watch just about anything that he is in, can you say Resident Evil: Afterlife, but some of my favorite Kim Coates movies are: Skinwalkers, Silent Hill, and Innocent Blood. My favorite Mark Boone Junior films are: 30 Days of Night, Vampires, Frankenfish, and Memento. If I had more time with Mark I was going to quiz him on Vampires. You need to check out that film.
Lena: Tig’s actions put the club in a difficult situation.
Kim Coates: Yes they did.
Lena: Are you looking forward to how that storyline is going to play out?
Kim Coates: Always. Sutter is responsible for all of it and this is his brain pie. I think that all of us don’t even know where he is going half of the time, and that is pretty exciting as actors. I always want more of these actions even though AGAIN I’m killing the wrong girl. Jesus Christ, what is up that? Yes, I am really looking forward to next season.
Lena: (laughing) That was my next question, when will Tig ever learn?
Kim Coates: I don’t think he ever will, right? I don’t think he ever will.
Lena: Despite all of Tig’s mistakes he’s still a loveable character. The whole fan base really loves you.
Kim Coates: Thank you, that is really nice to hear.
Lena: You didn’t lose my favor because you didn’t hurt the bunny.
Kim Coates: (laughing) I was never going to hurt the bunny.
Lena: How long did it take you to film that scene?
Kim Coates: That was Billy’s (Geirhart) episode. I love Billy. The hardest part, with that bunny, was picking the little sucker up. There was about ten of them in that cage and because the cameras were rolling, I had to get the one with the big long ears and he wasn’t always right there. When I did get him, he was awesome with me. I just had to pull out a knife and hold him and oh, I hated it.
Lena: Did you really hate yourself going home after that?
Kim Coates: YES, but you know what, I kissed the rabbit after that. They never used that, those bastards. They should have left that in. I kissed him right on the ears before I put him back down into the pen but they cut it.
Lena: What would you like to see happen with Tig next season?
Kim Coates: Well, this season was so epic, right?
Lena: Yes.
Kim Coates: It was just so epic with such dark undertones of our club. What Clay (Ron Perlman) did and Juice (Theo Rossi) can’t even hang himself properly so he’s still alive, thank god. Bobby (Mark Boone Junior) is in prison and Opie (Ryan Hurst) is on the run. I’ve ripped my patch off and I don’t want to be Sergeant at Arms anymore. Tig is sort of off the leash. What does that mean with Gemma (Katey Sagal)? I don’t know but Jax (Charlie Hunnam) isn’t going anywhere. He is forced to stay at home now. He’s going to have to deal with a lot of things so again, I just love it when the boys are being used. When the boys are being used I love it even more. It’s such a great story. Kurt has such a grasp of the whole Hamlet metaphor, and we do love the show.
Lena: Do you think the boys are ready to embrace Jax as the new President?
Kim Coates: I don’t know. I don’t know what it means. I think Tommy Flangan played that scene so beautifully, when I just mistakenly went right for my seat just because I am the Sergeant at Arms even though I turned my patch in to Clay and I didn’t want to be it anymore, I just forgot. Jax went, “No, no, you are sitting over there now.” He then looked at Chibs (Tommy Flannagan) and said, “Are you okay with this?” Chibs could have just said, “Yeah,” but he didn’t he put his arm on my shoulder and said, “I’m sorry brother.” It was so beautiful, what he did. Accepting him as the new President, yeah sure I don’t know. I think Chibs will. Opie obviously will. I think Bobby had his issues with Clay, so I think he will. Juice is always on the fence, it seems to me. I’m certainly always on the fence because I think I’m loyal to Clay even though he hasn’t really spoken to Tig in two years. It’s been two years since we really had a conversation of any kind of solidarity. I think Tig is off the leash. I don’t know what that means, but I’ve caused a lot of shit with this black club.
Lena: I loved the finale, but a lot of fans didn’t like it and thought it was like “selling out” the whole season (the Romeo and Luis, Galindo Cartel/CIA twist). What kind of response have you gotten from the fans?
Kim Coates: When we finished wrapping I left the next day to start filming two movies back-to- back. I really haven’t been back in L.A. I missed the last seven shows because they were only shown in America. I haven’t really talked in depth with anybody about that particular thing, but I will tell you that everybody that I do talk to loves the show no matter what. There might have been a bit of an issue with that I’m sure, but they love the show no matter what.
Lena: Do you think you are going to put your Skinwalkers wig on sometime soon? (Skinwalkers is a really fun film starring Kim, in a really luscious wig. It was co-written by James Roday from Psych. It is required viewing for any Kim Coates fan.)
Kim Coates: It’s not happening, unless you’re beside me with a bikini on.
Lena: (Deflecting that response because all in all I’m pretty shy, and I was already blushing just talking to Kim.) I loved that movie.
(Mark Boone Junior has entered the room.)
Kim Coates: Do you want to ask him some questions now that he’s here?
Mark Boone Junior: Who do we have here?
Kim Coates: Lena, say hi.
Lena: Hi.
Mark Boone Junior: What’s up?
Lena: Hopefully, Bobby doesn’t spend the whole season in jail.
Mark Boone Junior: Hopefully.
Kim Coates: (laughing) That is such a good response.
Mark Boone Junior: Yeah, I mean I don’t think I’d be too happy but, you know, maybe I could take a vacation to the Caribbean or something.
Kim Coates: Well, you would have some days off for sure, brother.
Mark Boone Junior: I would have a few days off just sitting there and maybe I could stick another knife in Otto’s (Kurt Sutter) eye if I’m in jail with him.
Kim Coates: What eye? Does he have any eyes left?
Mark Boone Junior: Well, they’ll find one.
Kim Coates: I mean, seriously? They’ll find one (laughing).
Mark Boone Junior: What is that pink thing? Oh, okay.
Lena: Are they going to let you keep your guitar or are they going to take it away? (They took Bobby’s socks in prison but gave him a guitar to play. It worked perfectly in the scene because he was able to play some cool mood music, but it was funny at the same time.)
Mark Boone Junior: You know, I don’t think that boy would’ve had a guitar.
Lena: No.
Kim Coates: No.
Mark Boone Junior: I like how you are thinking.
Lena: Was that you really playing?
Mark Boone Junior: Yeah, that was me playing. I play the guitar. I actually do sometimes play music.
Lena: That’s cool.
Mark Boone Junior: Yeah.
Lena: Do you ride motorcycles outside of filming the show?
Mark Boone Junior: I’m an everydayer.
Lena: I know Ron Perlman had a hard time.
Mark Boone Junior: Well, he never rode so to start riding a motorcycle when you are 58 years old is probably not the easiest thing under the kind of pressure that he was under.
Lena: He’s a big guy.
Mark Boone Junior: He’s actually not, he’s really not. He’s just a big head.
Lena: (laughing) I saw him at Comic-Con and he was (imposing).
Mark Boone Junior: No, no, no, he’s not that big.
(I am really short, so everyone is pretty big compared to me, but I still would not want to meet Ron in a dark alley.)
Lena: Do you think that Bobby is ready to accept Jax as the new President?
Mark Boone Junior: No, not really, not the way things have gone down while I was in prison. Truthfully, if I get asked about it I won’t, but that would be Boone talking, as Bobby I wouldn’t say that is the way it happens. We don’t have any input in it.
Lena: Are you and Kim going to get a twitter account?
Mark Boone Junior: It seems to me he gets a little jealous of Ryan (pointing to Kim) and Theo and all of the attention that they are getting on twitter. I have a twitter account.
Kim Coates: No you don’t, since when?
Mark Boone Junior: I’ve always had one. I never do anything on it.
Kim Coates: I just force Juice to talk about me all the time.
(Is it September, yet? I can’t wait to see these guys back in action.)