NYT SYNDICATE
JIMMY Smits is killing it on the FX series Sons of Anarchy. That should surprise no one, given that he’s a fine actor and a bit of a chameleon. Yet it seemed strange, even risky, to bring in the 57-yearold as Nero Padilla, owner of an escort service who hops into bed, figuratively, with the Samcro motorcycle gang, and literally with Gemma (Katey Sagal), the estranged wife of Samcro ex-boss Clay (Ron Perlman) and the mother of the gang’s current leader, Jax (Charlie Hunnam).
After all, Smits is a major star who can’t have come cheap, and Sons of Anarchy had been motoring along fine for four years before Smits rolled into town for a season-long arc in the show’s fifth year. He has, however, become something of a specialist in parachuting into flourishing series to impart a burst of fresh energy.
“It’s not something I haven’t done before,’’ Smits says, speaking by cell telephone while driving to the show’s set in Los Angeles. “I jumped on the fast-moving train with NYPD Blue (1994-1998, 2004), and The West Wing (2004-2006) was already established. The whole guest-arc thing is a little different, and, having done it on Dexter (2008), there was a certain comfort level that I had in negotiating all the dynamics when you do this kind of thing.’’ It wasn’t as if the actor were walking into a completely unknown situation, though. Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter was new to Smits, but director Paris Barclay and costar Perlman were known quantities.
“The fact that Paris Barclay works on Sons, it helped,’’ he says. “Paris was an exec on NYPD Blue, and he directed a lot of really good episodes I worked on. So we have a lot of synergy as an actor and director, and I trust him. So there was a definite comfort level I had. Also I was at an event honouring Paris. I was there with Sharon Lawrence from NYPD Blue, and there were people there from Sons and In Treatment, which he’d also done. That’s when we first started connecting, Kurt and Katey and I. Plus I’d worked with Ron Perlman on two films.
“Once I got on set, it was about trying to figure out where in the scheme of the show you as an actor, and you as whatever character they’ve come up with, can fit in, in terms of the spokes of the wheel,’’ Smits continues. “You want to honour the world the creator has outlined and you want to do something where you can pop, and I’m getting to do that here in a big way. And you want to be diplomatic, because you are walking into a situation where the train is moving. You want to make people comfortable that you’re not there to take jobs.
“It’s a finite thing, me being here,’’ he says. “I’m not looking to be a regular.
I admire what they’re doing and I just want to contribute.’’ Nero comes across as a decent guy. He cut a deal with Jax not to sleep with Gemma anymore and, at press time for this article, was still honouring it. The show’s fans, a glance at the Internet reveals, are waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Nero to reveal his true colours.
And indeed, reading between the lines of Smits’ comments on the subject, it seems as if fans will soon enough meet a far darker Nero.
“Knowing the way Kurt writes, I can’t wait until we really flip it on its head,’’ Smits says. “We’ve already flipped it in terms of having the audience see Jimmy West Wing/NYPD Blue do this kind of character. It’s like me revisiting the character I played in Mi Familia (1995) 17 years later. There was a whole thing about whether or not I had the street cred to be able to do that again, given that I’ve done all these ‘suit’ characters. So, for me, it’s been a joy to do.
“Now, Kurt’s strength as a writer and director is that he’s able to turn (stuff) on its head and blow (stuff) up at the end of a season and leave his audience going, ‘What the (heck)?,’’’ the actor says. ‘’Some of his cast members do the same thing too. So when we have the major turn for Nero – and it will happen – they’ll have an even juicier time with the character than they already are.
“That’s all part of the plan,’’ Smits says. “I can’t tell you what the turn is, but I’m actually going to the set now to shoot the last episode of this season, and it gets a little crazy there.’’ Once he wraps Sons of Anarchy, Smits will take a short break and then fly to Chicago to star in a Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of The Motherfucker with the Hat, set to run from December 28 to March 3. Smits participated in an early reading of the play a few years back, while he was on Broadway in God of Carnage (2009-2010), but Chris Rock starred in the 2011 Broadway production.
Smits will finally get the chance to play profane recovery sponsor Ralph D in the Steppenwolf edition.
“I’m so stoked about doing this play,’’ Smits says. “Talk about a role that’s very different for me, in terms of what the audience perception is.
This is way different. Chris Rock did it on Broadway and was instrumental in getting it on Broadway. I give serious props to him. I’m sure people think in their heads, ‘They’re going from Chris Rock to Jimmy Smits?’ The fact that we’re both from Brooklyn is the only thing we have in common.
“But I feel closer to this character’s life rhythm, to the way this character talks, than anything I’ve ever played,’’ he says. “I’m so, so excited about everything but being in Chicago from freaking November to March. I worked there before, during that time, on Running Scared (1986), one of my first films.
We shot that during nights that whole wintertime.
“I’m not looking forward to that because I’ll be away from my family,’’ adds Smits, who has two adult children and has lived with actress Wanda De Jesus for the past quarter- century. “I’ll miss Christmas and New Year’s. The good thing is that I’ll be totally forced to zone into the work and the character and all of that.’’ Smits appreciates stage work and says that he’ll always make time for it, but he also wouldn’t mind a long-running television show of his own, one that clicks and sticks around. Cane (2007) lasted only one season, and NBC axed Outlaw (2010) after a mere four episodes.
“I’m definitely ready,’’ the actor says, “but, if that’s not in the cards right now, so be it. I’m glad I’m getting these opportunities to flex my muscles and do different things.
What I’m happy about is that I’ve not done one of those procedural shows. A lot of them are very successful, but I’m just not really into that. Testament to the fact that I have commitment phobia anyway, I jump after four or five years. If I was on one of those procedural shows where I was talking about the bullet that went into the thing.
“Thank God that the cable universe has become what it is and that there’s a place where substantive stuff and stuff with character is the engine for storytelling,’’ Smits says. “Some of my favourite shows are not on the networks.
Maybe it’s not in the cards in terms of your own gig, but never say never in this business, you know? Things change so quickly and the business is so fickle, and you’ve got to be aware of all that stuff.
“I feel very blessed and happy to be doing the work I’m d o i n g r i g h t now.’
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