A Day Out With Sons of Anarchy's Katey Sagal

Hell hath no fury like a biker chick scorned. On Season 5 of FX's hit Shakespearean motorcycle drama Sons of Anarchy— skidding to its high-octane finale tonight — that betrayal has been brought to vivid life by Katey Sagal as SAMCRO matriarch Gemma. We made tracks to Kim's Video & Music in NYC to catch up with Sagal.

TV Guide Magazine: It's appropriate we're meeting at a record store today, since you started out in show business as a singer...
Sagal: I had bands and record deals, some pretty good shots — then I started feeling tired of the struggle and decided I'd better open up my venues. But music is my first love.

TV Guide Magazine: This season, Gemma went off the rails with drugs and alcohol. You've been sober for decades. Was that tough to play?
Sagal: I have a lot of history with some of it, though I certainly never had a car crash like Gemma where I hurt somebody. It's not a scary place for me to go back to because it only strengthens my gratitude that I'm not there.

TV Guide Magazine: SOA has a history of major cliff-hangers. What's in store?
Sagal: The ending is pretty shocking — fans will not be disappointed. This season's theme has been secrets and lies, and there will be more. I can tell you nobody's gonna die.

TV Guide Magazine: You're married to creator Kurt Sutter, who also plays inmate Otto. Are you two as fiery as Gemma and Clay in real life?
Sagal: We're so not them! He's a very sweet man. I know he writes a dark and violent show, but he's really smart and wonderful. It's definitely a balancing act being married to the boss. I am straddling both worlds.

TV Guide Magazine: Ever sass him about show-related issues?
Sagal: Well, I have to do it very carefully, because I've done it all the wrong ways. So I ask questions much more sparingly now than I did at the beginning. It's like with anything in marriage: You gotta say it at the right time.

TV Guide Magazine: Gemma's hair is practically a character of its own. Are those actual highlights?
Sagal: This is the first year they're clipped in, because my hair was starting to fall out. I had bald spots on the top of my head. This season, because she's kind of a mess, the streaks look like a mess. As we've evolved toward the end, we've worked on the hair so it starts to look better.

TV Guide Magazine: Season 7 will likely be SOA's last. Where do you think these characters will end up?
Sagal: Ha! Well, I haven't thought much about it. In Hamlet, they all die. It's an option.

Sons of Anarchy airs Tuesday at 10/9c on FX.

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