History Trivia / SonsofAnarchy

** Creator/PeterWeller of 1987/RoboCop fame as a corrupt cop who only cares about money.

** Creator/PeterWeller of 1987/Robocop fame as a corrupt cop who only cares about money.

** Not within this show but within the shared universe of SOA and Mayans MC; Joe Ordaz plays an unnamed Mayan who is shot in the throat by Clay in the pilot episode. In Mayans MC, he plays Paco, an enforcer of Miguel Galindo, who is shot in the throat by him for his perceived failures.

** Not within this show but within the shared universe of SOA and Mayans MC, Joe Ordaz plays an unnamed Mayan who is shot in the throat by Clay in the pilot episode. In Mayans MC, he plays Paco, an enforcer of Miguel Galindo, who is shot in the throat by him for his perceived failures.

** Sonny Barger (Lenny Janowitz) is not only a real Hells Angel, but he is also the founding member of Oakland, one of its initial charters, and at one point was its president.

** David [=LaBrava=] (Happy) and Rusty Coones (Rane Quinn) are real life [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels Hells Angels]].

** Jeff Wincott, playing the Italian American Jimmy Cacuzza, is Canadian.

* FakeAmerican: Jax and Tig. Creator/CharlieHunnam is from Newcastle, [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} UK]], while Creator/KimCoates is from [[CanadaEh Saskatoon, Saskatchewan]].

* FakeNationality: Jeff Wincott, playing the Italian American Jimmy Cacuzza, is Canadian.
** Adam Arkin, who plays white separatist Ethan Zobelle, is Jewish. It's unlikely he would be welcomed by most white nationalists.

* CreatorBacklash: Kurt Sutter came up with the idea of a big Sons guide that would go into detail of all the episodes. It ended up being released and sent to fans a week before the final episode, spoiling the ending. Feeling it was a long time since he called someone a (^~+ Sutter went on a ClusterFBomb rant where he promised fans a basket full of heads of those responsible, asked those spoiled not to air their views online and given the book was his idea took the blame for what happened.

** Creator/WaltonGoggins of ''The Shield'' and ''Justified'' has a small part as the transsexual escort Venus Van Damme. Made even more amazing by the fact that it was ''completely'' kept secret until the episode aired, to the extent of pushing Goggins' on-screen credit to the end of the ep. Even the name choice was great, as his character on The Shield twice used "Cletus Van Damme" as an alias.

* DuelingShows: A very narrowly averted example. Right around the same time Sons was being produced, HBO had a show titled "1%" in the pipeline. The show would have starred Donal Logue as Misfit, a biker who is forced to move to another charter after they start trouble for the club. Sutter himself, on the "[=SutterInk=]" blog, voiced approval for the show. A pilot was filmed, but the show never made it to the airwaves, since Sonny Barger sued HBO for turning to Michael Tolkin to write it and trying to cut him out, even though both men had pitched the show together. Additionally, Barger's lawsuit stated that the script depicted characters too closely resembling living persons and locations too identifiable with the Hells Angels. The suit was successful and the show never saw the light of day, aside from a script that can be found online and a Vimeo video with a few clips from one of the stars, which is no longer available for viewing.

* FakeAmerican: Jax. Creator/CharlieHunnam is from Newcastle, [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} UK]].

** Creator/CourtneyLove as a kindergarten teacher.

* TheCastShowoff: Katey Sagal has worked as a professional singer. She provides vocals for several songs used in the show.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Music/HenryRollins, a man who frequently speaks out against racism, plays a white supremacist, right down to having 'I kill niggers' tattooed on his chest in large letters.

** Tom Arnold, known mainly for comedic roles, plays a sleazy pornographer and murderer.

** Walton Goggins of ''The Shield'' and ''Justified'' has a small part as the transsexual escort Venus Van Damme. Made even more amazing by the fact that it was ''completely'' kept secret until the episode aired, to the extent of pushing Goggins' on-screen credit to the end of the ep. Even the name choice was great, as his character on The Shield twice used "Cletus Van Damme" as an alias.

** Emilio Rivera played a SAMCRO member named Hawk, who was a precursor to Tig. Alvarez was invented so Rivera could play him instead. On another cast related note, Clay was originally played by Scott Glenn. You can still see footage of them in the pilot episode, when the boys are running away from the warehouse explosion. On a more minor note, screenshots from the pilot indicate that Juice originally sported a full head of hair.

** Emilio Rivera played a SAMCRO member named Hawk, who was a precursor to Tig. Alvarez was invented so Rivera could play him instead. On another cast related note, Clay was originally played by Scott Glenn. You can still see footage of them in the pilot episode, when the boys are running away from the warehouse explosion.

** Lee Toric was intended to be the main antagonist of season six and be on the run for all of season seven. His shakes would have been explained as an effect of Huntington's Disease, which Tara would realize he had during one of his visits to her, and use the fact to her advantage. Donal Logue's busy schedule meant that Toric had to be killed off much earlier than expected. His absence is likely why the final two seasons, or at least six, seemed so directionless at points.

* ActorAllusion:
** Creator/StephenKing appears in a cameo role as a "cleaner" called Bachman, a reference to his old PenName, Richard Bachman.
** When planning Gemma's hiding in Canada, Tig suggests that she "go redhead," referencing Katey Sagal's role as Peg Bundy in ''Series/MarriedWithChildren''. Gemma states that she'd rather shave her head.
** When Jax takes Luann to the new porn studio she is initially afraid that he is going to murder her. Jax tells her he isn't going to "go Adrianna" on her. A reference to Creator/DreaDeMatteo (who played Jax's son's mother)'s character from ''Series/TheSopranos''.
** Chibs' name dropping another movie he was in.
-->'''Chibs''': I love the green! [[Film/AllAboutTheBenjamins All about the Benjamins]]!"
** A basketball player calls Kozik a "lemonheaded sucka." Hmm, didn't Kenny Johnson play a guy [[Series/TheShield in a certain TV show]] where his nickname was "Lem," which was short for "Lemonhead"? Also, [[spoiler: his final line of dialogue, before being blown up by a landmine, was "You gotta be shittin' me", one of his Shield character's catchphrases]].
** When Walton Goggins, of ''Series/TheShield'' shows up playing a transsexual hooker, his character is named Venus Van Damme. His character on The Shield twice used Cletus Van Damme as an alias.
** Charlie Barosky is a history buff, much like Creator/PeterWeller himself.
** Music/AshleyTisdale guest stars as Emma Jean, one of Nero's escorts, in one scene there is a Cheerleader costume resembling the one from ''Series/{{Hellcats}}'' on the bed
** AJ Weston, played by Music/HenryRollins, has a Black Flag tattoo on his left arm and the back of his neck. Rollins ''absolutely hates'' the neo-Nazi influence in early hardcore punk, so its seems like its played for the ironic factor.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The reason for Hale's rather [[DroppedABridgeOnHim sudden]] death in the Season 3 premiere was that Taylor Sheridan decided to leave the show to pursue a screenwriting career. As the point below makes, the decision paid off.
* RetroactiveRecognition: In a way; Taylor Sheridan, who played David Hale in the first two seasons, has gone on to have a successful screenwriting career, penning ''Sicario'' and ''Hell or High Water''.

** Half Sack was intended to be around the entire series. He was only killed off because Johnny Lewis wanted to leave the show.
** Likewise, Hale was supposed to be around much longer than he ended up being. He was only killed off so abruptly because Hale's actor was considering leaving the show, so Sutter wrote two story lines. The actor ended up deciding to stay, but because Sutter liked the plot where his character died so much, they filmed that one anyways.

** According to Ron Perlman, Clay was supposed to survive until the very end and even get a redemption arc.

* StarMakingRole: For Creator/CharlieHunnam, Creator/RyanHurst and Creator/KimCoates.

* DuelingShows: A very narrowly averted example. Right around the same time Sons was being produced, HBO had a show titled "1%" in the pipeline. The show would have starred Donal Logue as Misfit, a biker who is forced to move to another charter after they start trouble for the club. Sutter himself, on the "SutterInk" blog, voiced approval for the show. A pilot was filmed, but the show never made it to the airwaves, since Sonny Barger sued HBO for turning to Michael Tolkin to write it, even though both men pitched the show together. Additionally, Barger's lawsuit stated that the script depicted characters too closely resembled living persons and locations too identifiable with the Hells Angels. The suit was successful and the show never saw the light of day, aside from a script that can be found online and a Vimeo video with a few clips from one of the stars, which is no longer available for viewing.

** Ashley Tisdale guest stars as Emma Jean, one of Nero's escorts, in one scene there is a Cheerleader costume resembling the one from ''Series/{{Hellcats}}'' on the bed
** AJ Weston, played by Henry Rollins, has a Black Flag tattoo on his left arm and the back of his neck. Rollins ''absolutely hates'' the neo-Nazi influence in early hardcore punk, so its seems like its played for the ironic factor.

* CastIncest: Nero and Carla, played by Jimmy Smits and his partner Wanda De Jesus. She's later revealed to be not only a ClingyJealousGirl for him with an unrequited crush, but his half-sister.

* FakeAmerican: Jax. Charlie Hunnam is from Newcastle, [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} UK]].

* CastingGag: Somewhat, but in the Japanese dub of the series, Jax is voiced by Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa, who previously voiced Takakura Kojuro from ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'', who is the NumberTwo of UsefulNotes/DateMasamune, whose design is heavily based in a typical JapaneseDelinquent and Masamune has a horse that looks like a bike, and that without going into the point Kojuro himself speaks like a gangster and acts like a {{Yakuza}}.

** When planning Gemma's hiding in Canada, Tig suggests that she "go redhead," referencing Katy Sagal's role as Peg Bundy in ''Series/MarriedWithChildren''. Gemma states that she'd rather shave her head.