When I was recently offered the opportunity to do an interview with actor Donal Logue, to chat with him about his roles on three of my must-watch TV shows – Vikings, Copper and Sons of Anarchy  – needless to say, I jumped at the chance.  Throw in the fact that that he was on one of my personal favorites – the gone-far-too-soon Terriers – and it was truly one of the most enjoyable interviews that I’ve ever done.

During this exclusive phone interview with Collider, Donal Logue talked about the amazing and unique opportunity he has to work on three popular drama series simultaneously, how he came to play King Horik on History’s original drama series Vikings (which just wrapped up its highly successful first season) and that he’ll definitely be back for Season 2, the type of character he’ll be playing on BBC America’s Copper, when the series returns for Season 2 on June 23^rd, what the experience of doing Sons of Anarchy has been like, and if the success of the Kickstarter campaign for the Veronica Mars movie gives him any more hope that Terriers could return, in some form and at some point.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

This week on The Collision, we are joined by Allison Keene and Charles Judson.  Our conversation is sparked by a Mad Men spec script from actress Erika Anderson, which brings African-American characters into Matthew Weiner‘s critically acclaimed show.  From there, our conversation expands to explore diversity in popular TV series, if showrunners should feel obligated to diversify their casts, the difficulty in writing minority characters, and much more.  As always, we finish up with our recommendations.

Click here to listen to the new episode of The Collision, click here for the previous episode (“Violence and Evil Dead“), click here to add the podcast to your RSS, and click here to find us on iTunes. To keep up to date with The Collision, you can follow us on Twitter at @MattGoldberg, @AdamChitwood, and @DrClawMD (Dave Trumbore). Hit the jump to check out the trailers for this week’s recommendations.

In its fractious fifth season, FX’s biker drama Sons of Anarchy introduced us to two new characters, with varying results.  The first, Nero Padilla (played by Jimmy Smits) started out as a love interest for Gemma (Katey Segal), but ended up being a better father figure to Jax (Charlie Hunnam) than his (increasingly evil) step-father Clay (Ron Perlman).  Nero helped the MC financially and also emotionally as things began to break apart.  As much as he wanted to help lead Jax away from its violence, he ended up caught in its web as well.

Last year we also got the beginning of the story of U.S. Marshall Lee Toric (Donal Logue) in the final few episodes, and it seems Logue will also be back in the new season to expand on that part.  Hit the jump for more on these characters and what we might see of them coming up.  

Based on the works of crime novelist Elmore Leonard and developed for television by showrunner Graham Yost, the FX drama series Justified is back for Season 4.  This time around, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) will start to unravel the mystery of a more than 30-year-old cold case that connects back to his criminal father’s (Raymond J. Barry) bad dealings, while Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) finds his grip on Harlan County loosening due to a preacher (Joe Mazzello) with a talent for manipulation that rivals his own.  The show also stars Nick Searcy, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel and Joelle Carter.

During this recent exclusive interview with Collider, actor Walton Goggins talked about where Boyd’s head is at this season, getting to play his character’s sense of humor a bit more, if being a crime boss is more than he bargained for, how much of a thorn in Boyd’s side Preacher Billy will be, what Ron Eldard is bringing to the show this season, how actively involved he is with the show and character development, that his approach, as an actor, is different with each season, and how grateful he is to be on such a quality show.  He also talked about his very memorable guest spot as Venus Van Dam on Sons of Anarchy, and the possibility of the character returning, looking for roles that he feels he can bring something to that will enhance the writer or director’s vision, and that fans love to chat with him about his work.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

The hit FX drama Sons of Anarchy has just wrapped up its fifth season with the series’ most-watched finale, ever.  With loyalties in question and the fate of more than one character undetermined, it will certainly be interesting to see where the characters are headed next season.

To discuss where things were left at the end of this season and to look ahead to Season 6, show creator/executive producer/writer Kurt Sutter, who also directed the finale, did this interview about where Jax (Charlie Hunnam) is at mentally, what’s to come for Gemma (Katey Sagal), what Clay’s (Ron Perlman) role will be now, the fractures that exist in SAMCRO, the condition Otto (also played by Sutter) is now in, whether Donal Logue and Jimmy Smits will return, his plan to still end the show in seven seasons (unless he feels he can’t fully tell the story he wants to, in that time), and that he’ll return to the writers room for Season 6 in February.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

The crime thriller Deadfall tells the story of siblings Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde), who get in a car accident after a casino heist gone wrong and decide to split up to make a run for the Canadian border during a Thanksgiving blizzard. While Addison is creating mayhem, Liza is picked up by ex-boxer Jay (Charlie Hunnam), who’s looking to make amends with his parents over a dinner that will push the bonds of family to the limit.

At the film’s press day, actor Charlie Hunnam spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about what attracted him to this film, living like a boxer for five weeks to prepare, and what he liked about the unique duality of the storytelling. He also talked about how he feels about Jax Teller’s darker journey on Season 5 of Sons of Anarchy and how the loss of Opie (and Ryan Hurst, as an actor on the series) really affected things, that he hasn’t gotten to see any more footage of Pacific Rim yet but that director Guillermo del Toro says that it’s 10 times better than anything he’s ever directed, and how he’s taking this six-month hiatus to write a film based on a true story that he owns the rights to, about a young man who, after an unfortunate circumstance, found himself running the third biggest drug cartel in Mexico. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Actor Donal Logue is currently guest starring on the hit FX drama series Sons of Anarchy, as former U.S. Marshal Lee Toric, a man who is both mysterious and intense with a definite violent streak.  Looking to avenge the death of his sister, he’s clearly focused on making everyone pay that was connected, including Tara (Maggie Siff), the wife of SAMCRO president Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam).

During this recent interview to promote his appearance on the show, Donal Logue talked about how this role came about, what the experience of being on the show has been like, how he views his very intense character, and the possibility of him hanging around for next season.  He also talked about what Season 2 of Terriers might have been, being a part of the drama series Vikings (set to debut on History in Summer 2013), doing the Silent Night remake, his memories from his time on The X-Files, and his secret experimental project with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Emotions have run high in these last few Sons of Anarchy episodes, and while much of it has made up for the unevenness of the season, one wonders how entertaining the full season will be upon rewatch knowing that resolution evades.  Still, “J’ai Obtenu Cette” (which is one hell of an unnecessarily pretentious title) was in and of itself a great episode, and it set up a very emotionally complex fifth season.  Of course, that’s also the reaction most of us had at the end of last season.  While Season Five has indeed been about Jax versus Clay and their ongoing power struggle, the show has wandered a great deal in between, (even though it’s extended its episode count and occasionally the runtime to allow for more storytelling).  Hit the jump for a look at the best parts of “J’ai Obtenu Cette” i.e. “I Got This.”

It’s been an emotional season for Sons of Anarchy, but the feelings in “Darthy” were some of the deepest and most difficult yet.  Though the season has put us through some horrendous deaths and near-deaths, to see the club and its members at such a crossroads, breaking apart more and more after each incident rather than rallying together, has been unsettling.  This has been especially true as members are picked off one by one, and the morally grey lines become increasingly blurry for every character, even those who have traditionally been on the side of right (at least, as right as any SAMCRO member can be).  Hit the jump for why Opie was right: the gavel does corrupt.

The fifth season of Sons of Anarchy has been pretty uniformly decent, tying together story lines from the last few seasons and bringing them (some of them) to their conclusions or to important turning points.  It hasn’t been easy — Season Five has taken plenty of side streets to get where we are now, and made some strange detours along the way.  But “To Thine Own Self” brought together all of the best elements of the series (the relationships, the machinations and most of all the humor) and seems so far to be the best hour yet offered this season.  It was visceral, it was fun, it was strange, and it was ominous.  Hit the jump for why “I am rapturous!” 

At some point I should upload a scan of my notes for Sons of Anarchy, because they are far, far more chaotic than any other show I have ever reviewed.  Even Boardwalk Empire, with its myriad plots, can’t compare.  At least with Boardwalk, certain stories develop in their own world, like little vignettes whose significance may not be made clear now or ever, but they’re still enjoyable to watch unfold.  Sons of Anarchy has plenty of strange, throwaway plots too (look to almost any guest stars during the season and you’ll find the filler) and has been chastised by many, myself included, for being just about plot points more than character development (though not unusual for a series in its fifth season).  Still, one’s mind is impressively boggled by the incredible amount of layers in not just the outside forces pressing on SAMCRO, but the changing alliances within.  Hit the jump for my attempts at untangling some of the spider’s web.

In Season 5, when many shows are already on the decline, the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy has proven to be stronger and more popular than ever. Nearing the end of its season with only a handful of episodes left, things feel like they’re ready to explode for many of the characters and storylines.

During this recent interview, actor Jimmy Smits – who plays Nero Padilla, a Latino gangbanger with an exit strategy that gets into the escort business with SAMCRO – talked about how he got involved with the show, how he sees the relationship between Nero and Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), why he thinks his character is drawn to Gemma (Katey Sagal), how he finds common ground with Nero, who he would have liked to have shared some scenes with, the turn his character will be taking, and whether he might return next season. He also talked about being open to working in any medium, how he’ll be doing a play in the winter, and his thoughts on the Disney purchase of LucasFilm, having been a part of the Star Wars universe with the prequels, as Senator Bail Organa. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

So much happens in any given episode of Sons of Anarchy it can be hard to know where to start.  Even though in each season the action does focus down to a core four or five characters, with a few constants (Jax, Gemma and Clay) and a few rotations (in the past, Chibs and Unser, now Bobby and Nero), with Tara always floating around in the background as the most unevenly written character maybe of any show I’ve ever given serious consideration to … there’s always a lot going on.  It’s helpful to have so many cards in play for Sons‘ incredibly complicated stories, though they can mange to veer too much into just a litany of plot points without enough character building.  But “Andare Pescare” actually slowed down for some telling conversations and interactions, which made it a fairly strong episode.  Hit the jump for why I don’t break into mausoleums — I’m not Tig!

Now here’s the stuff!  After a shaky few weeks, Sons of Anarchy gives us a great, dense episode that answers old questions, brings up new ones, and even has its own complete in-episode dramas.  Jax is at a breaking point with everything surrounding him, pressures from the club, his family, Pope, Eli, Frankie, Nero, the RICO case, the cartel … the list goes on and on.  Still, Jax keeps his cool, maneuvering his pieces to battle Clay as club business, meaning that the club could vote to exile him and kill him.  It ain’t easy bein’ a Son.  For more on the episode and why if you don’t do what I say then you’d better get used to living in a brothel, hit the jump.

On the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy, actor Rockmond Dunbar plays no-nonsense Charming Sheriff Eli Roosevelt.  After a tragic event turns his world upside down, the previously tough-as-nails lawman is clearly shaken to his core.  The show stars Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal, Maggie Siff, Kim Coates, Mark Boone Junior, Tommy Flanagan, Theo Rossi and Dayton Callie.

During this recent interview to discuss where his character is headed in the remainder of Season 5, Rockmond Dunbar talked about never knowing where things are headed with Roosevelt, how he actually likes that element of surprise, that his character will continue to spiral out of control, how he came to be a part of the show, what he things set Sons of Anarchy apart from other TV dramas, how show creator Kurt Sutter inspires him, and the various TV and film projects he has in development.  Check out what he had to say, and be aware that there are some spoilers.