Ron Perlman, Sons of Anarchy Interview

Ron Perlman rules the road as SAMCRO president Clay Morrow on Sons of Anarchy. The morning before the Season Three finale, we got to talk with the veteran actor about his time on SOA, including working with Katey Sagal, talking back to Kenny Johnson and the dangers of riding (and dropping) a Harley.

UGO: Today's the big day, today the big finale of Sons of Anarchy is on.

RON PERLMAN: I'm missing it.

UGO: You're missing it!

RON: I'm in London.

UGO: You haven't seen it?

RON: I have not seen it, no.

UGO: Oh wow, I was lucky enough to get a screener and it's amazing, dude. Best show on TV.

RON: Is it good, the finale?

UGO: Oh my God, it's so badass dude, it is just... yeah. The office shut down for an hour and everyone gathered around the TV and we watched it.

RON: Oh wow, cool.

UGO: I spoke to Kenny Johnson yesterday and I asked him about riding motorcycles and he said you had a little trouble on set, that you're the guy who drops his bike.

WERE YOU REALLY PAYING ATTENTION? FIND OUT WITH SOME SONS OF ANARCHY SEASON 3 TRIVIA.

RON: That fu**ing bastard.

UGO: Do you have anything to say to Kenny?

RON: Yeah call him back and tell him I would never throw him under the bus like he threw me under the bus that fu**ing bastard fu**. I love Kenny. Kenny's a really, really cool dude, man. I'm sure he didn't say it maliciously, but...

UGO: No, with nothing but love.

RON: Everybody knows I said in the press a million times everybody knows how much I hate the bike and how intimidated I am by the bike and how I never got good on the bike and I never will get good on the bike. But I did have a big spill on the shooting of the last episode when I kind of lost control, I revved it too hard. It went down and I went down with it and I slid about twenty feet on the gravel-filled road.

UGO: The finale sets up next year in terms of the story, the back-story. What did you find this season was the most interesting part of the saga for you to work on?

RON: The exotic nature and the relationship with the IRA and all of the nuances, getting to know how complex that all is. You know, why things have been the way they've been for so long in that region. You know, that was kind of the flavor, the year was unearthing our relationship with that and who we are to one another and how much we depend on one another for financial autonomy.

UGO: And one last question in regards to the show, I mean, it's the best show on TV...

RON: Thank you.

UGO: It doesn't always get the recognition that it deserves, but what is it like to work with someone like Katey Sagal, you guys just have so much chemistry and it's just very impress to watch?

RON: Well, she's the big surprise, you know? She's been given a huge sort of dramatic arc on this show as that character and she's truly risen to the occasion in an uncommon way and I think everywhere I go people are blown away by the depth of her talent and that's a nice thing to see.

THINK YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE IN SAMCRO? PROVE IT!

UGO: Yeah and you really play the patriarch of not only the chapter but the worldwide chapter, how do you get into that mindset of being the ultimate badass?

RON: It just comes natural. [laughs maniacally] I don't know if you could print that laugh...

UGO: I'm going to print that man; somehow I'm going to find a way.

RON: Well, I'll leave it in your capable hands. Let's just put it like this, there's an old cliché: "I'm not a tough guy, I just play one on TV."

UGO: You've got also an incredible voice, I was telling my wife this morning that I was going to talk to you she sad, "You have to tell him when I was young I fell in love with his voice from Beauty and the Beast." But you know, being the narrator of Fallout, do you find doing voice acting something that is similar? How is it similar and how is t different than doing camera work?

RON: Well I just love any creative endeavor. I'm kind of addicted to being challenged and to breathing life into something that's inanimate. I get a huge charge out of it. The difference between voice and acting in front of the camera is in voice acting you're hoping to get in and out real quick, you can do a whole script in a few hours and so it's very primal and it's very dependent on what your instinctive approach to the role is rather than doing a lot of research, doing a lot of rehearsing, doing a lot of discussing. You are shooting from the hip. It's a challenge that I really welcome. I like working fast and I like working instinctively, I don't like belaboring the issue. I have a strong point of view about anything that I agree to do anyway, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it, and so that's the thrill of voice acting for me.

UGO: Listen man, you've been making some really great choices these past few years and I'm really enjoying the work you are doing. Keep it up, man!

RON: Don't forget to print that laugh!

UGO: I'm going to post the audio file: "Hear Ron Perlman's Laugh!"

Click to hear it: