The beautiful Maggie Siff discusses Tara’s development, her most difficult scenes, what’s coming up for her on Sons of Anarchy, her first Comic-Con, and so much more.  It was fascinating to listen to Maggie talk about how she has grown as a character.  She brings so much to the series, and she certainly doesn’t take her fans for granted.   She appreciates each and every one of us.  If you think she is lovely on-screen, I can confirm that you can take that thought and multiply it times a million.  She is completely flawless in person, and if that wasn’t enough, she made sure that she greeted every one at our press table.  In fact, I can credit the entire Sons of Anarchy cast for doing that.  Out of all of the pressrooms that I covered, this cast was the only one that made it a point to do that.  That, of course, is just one example of why they are the most beloved cast in television history.  Not only do they bring these characters to life with the utmost respect for their craft, but they also appreciate all of the support.  Don’t miss the season five premiere of Sons of Anarchy, September 11 on FX.

First Comic-Con experience:

Maggie Siff:  I’m a Comic-Con virgin.  It is kind of amazing.  I honestly haven’t made it into the convention center yet, so I think I’ll have more to say on the subject later, but walking around has been a lot of fun.   I got into the elevator today and there were these two guys with ears that were attached to brainwaves, they (the ears) were moving.

Tara’s fandom:

Maggie Siff:  I don’t know.  I’m always a little bit surprised, honestly, because I think of it as being such a show about the guys.  So much of my identity on the show has been this sort of outsider character, kind of floating around the periphery of the world, or trying to get out of the world.  I’m always sort of like, oh, people like me.  People like Tara and are vested in Tara.  It still sort of surprises me.

Tara’s development:

Maggie Siff:  The last time that you saw her at the end of this season with her hand (injured), I think the experience for her is that this thing that has identified her was taken away.   What she is left with is living inside the club, but she embraces it.  At the end of the season you see her say, “Alright I’m here again but in a different way.”  She’s going to stay by Jax and try to make it happen.

Most difficult scene in the series:              

Maggie Siff:  There have been a couple; in the very first season it’s probably the scene where there was an attempted rape.  Charlie and I ended up having to kill the guy, and it was all very twisted.  The whole scene that I did with Jay Karnes, which was this really complicated psychodrama between them, was probably the most difficult scene to execute well.  And then a lot of the stuff with the hands, this past season, was also really challenging.  It was kind of brutalizing.  You get very attached to your character.  You are inside of their minds for years on end and then something like that happens; it is kind of devastating.  I was very excited as an actor, but as a character it is very upsetting.

Where Tara is at now, in terms of embracing the club:

Maggie Siff:  She’s still trying to figure it out.  I talk to Kurt a lot about how even as Tara become more the queen, she’s not Gemma; she’s still a doctor.  She is still seeing a wider world than some of the other characters.  She has a deep intelligence, and she has lived with a conscience for a very long time.  I think that she is still struggling to find balance but I would say the darker, more protective parts of her nature, the anger parts of her nature, she just has less impulse control as she lives alongside these people.  That part of her is coming forward.

Making the change from reserved to where she is today:       

Maggie Siff:  It has been surprisingly easy.  Making that move towards the darker aspects of her and the ones that more closely resemble the life of these other people, it has been easy.  I don’t really know why except that I think it’s more like letting go instead of adding things on, in terms of character.

Episode preparation now compared to season one:

Maggie Siff:  I think it is a little different.  It depends on the scene and the day.  We know these characters so well.  I think most of the preparation is to know your lines inside and out, backwards and forward, and show up.  The relationships are so in place, and I trust everybody that I work with so much that it kind of happens.

Comic-Con 2012 Photo Gallery

https://lenalamoray.com/2012/07/17/sons-of-anarchy-comic-con-2012-photos-2/