Sons Of Anarchy has been finished for well over a year now, but that doesn’t mean we can stop revisiting the TV show when we dig up pieces of information like this. I mean it’s not like we’re going to get another series so stuff like this is going to have to do, right?
One of the key roles in Sons Of Anarchy was that of Clay Morrow, expertly played by Ron Perlman. However, it turns out that Kurt Sutter (SOA showrunner) actually shot an entire pilot with another actor in that role, only for it to later be recast. That actor: Scott Glenn.
You probably don’t know who Scott Glenn is, so here’s a couple of pictures of him. One is him being regular old Scott Glenn and another one is from the pilot with him as Clay Morrow. Hint: he’s been in The Leftovers and Daredevil recently.
Featured Image VIA
Image VIA
Image VIA
As to why Glenn was recast, Perlman actually revealed it once in an interview:
PERLMAN: I did have to audition for [Sons of Anarchy]. They had already shot the pilot with another actor playing Clay Morrow. And the network decided that they weren’t getting what they were hoping to get and that they were willing to – they loved the series enough to – if they thought they found the right actor, they were willing to reshoot the pilot and start — restart the clock and green light the show for a whole first season, which is 13 episodes.
GROSS: Did you have any idea what the original actor had done wrong that they thought was not quite right for the part?
PERLMAN: The original actor is a brilliant actor. I won’t mention his name, but he’s – I’m a huge fan of his. But he’s a very subtle guy. And he has a very kind of a quiet, understated presence about him, which, in terms of this particular guy, Clay Morrow, they were looking for way more dynamic. They were looking for higher highs and lower lows and a lot of very, very kind of…
GROSS: Volatility?
PERLMAN: … Resonance, yeah. So I understood going into it that, you know – that they were looking for a more operatic version of this guy. And it just so happened – you know, I happened to be free that week.
Well, although Scott Glenn can be great I think we probably can all agree that Sutter made the right choice when he brought in Perlman. The rest as they say is history.
This is more common than you think in the TV world to be honest – for instance, Andrew Lincoln wasn’t the first choice to play Rick Grimes either.
