Stephen King Makes the Most of His Unsettling Cameo in This Crime Drama FSalinks

Who says authors can’t be actors? No stranger to the silver screen, the renowned “King of Horror” Stephen King has not only written a host of horror novels but made cameos in plenty of adaptations of his own works. King has played a minister in 1989’s Pet Sematary and a shopkeeper in Andy Muschietti’s It Chapter 2, even taking on a minor role in the 1994 TV miniseries adaptation of The Stand, but his bit part in Sons of Anarchy might be his most memorable role to date.

The FX crime drama, starring Charlie Hunnam and Katey Sagal, welcomed King in 2010 as one of the series’ numerous surprise cameos, with unexpected actors like Lea Michele, Ashley Tisdale, and even David Hasselhoff making appearances over the course of the series’ 6-year run. So, how did King’s cameo come about, and how did Kurt Sutter‘s FX drama manage to land one of the most prolific authors of all time? Ever the good sport, King still mentions the cameo in interviews, and even years later, looks back on the role fondly.

Sons of Anarchy

A biker struggles to balance being a father and being involved in an outlaw motorcycle club.

Release Date

September 3, 2008

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

7

Studio

FX

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Stephen King Cleans Up in ‘Sons of Anarchy’

In Season 3’s third episode, “Caregiver,” King plays Bachman, a subtle nod to his pen name, Richard Bachman. Bachman is a “cleaner” hired to dispose of a body by Gemma Morrow-Teller (Katey Sagal) and Tig Trager (Kim Coates), following the death (technically murder, depending on who you ask) of Gemma’s father’s live-in caretaker. Bachman displays an affinity for ’80s music (classic King), which he requests prior to the job and proceeds to blast while dismembering the body and, like King, brings an eerie, unsettling vibe to the experience.

Like many of Sons of Anarchy‘s characters, Bachman rides a motorcycle, specifically a red Harley-Davidson Road-Glide. King also makes another semi-cameo in the series — Season 4’s eighth episode, “Family Recipe.” In the episode, a fake Stephen King novel, appropriately titled Cycle Zombies, is seen being read by SAMCRO member Piney Winston (William Lucking).

Stephen King’s ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Cameo Was a Lucky Strike for FX

The cameo was a matter of divine timing, as King was already in Los Angeles, where Sons of Anarchy primarily filmed, to accept an award. Writing about the experience on his blog, King says he “jumped at the chance” to appear on Sons of Anarchy, stating creator Kurt Sutter promised to put him on a “bitchin’ Harley” (the aforementioned Road-Glide), which the seasoned author could hardly have turned down. The darker role Sutter had written for him was a departure for King, who stated that he was usually relegated to playing “country bumpkins.”

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Though he was a guest on set, King was still familiar with a portion of the cast and crew. King met Charlie Hunnam, who plays Jackson “Jax” Teller, for the first time, but was also eager to reconnect with prior collaborators: Ron Pearlman, in particular, who had acted in two adaptations of King’s books (Sleepwalkers and Desperation), as well as Billy Gierhart, who worked on the 2007 adaptation of The Mist. King also relished the opportunity to act alongside television veterans Katey Sagal and Kim Coates, who treated him as a professional though, as King noted, “I most assuredly am not.”

Of all the roles King has played over the last few decades, his role as Bachman is both parts unsettling and unexpected. Though oft-forgotten by some, to many King fans, his Sons of Anarchy cameo is one of his most iconic. Gruesome body disposal aside, it appears the experience was a positive one, and in an interview with Tudum, King reflected on his acting experience, stating “My finest moment was doing a cameo in Sons of Anarchy, and I got to ride a motorcycle.”

Sons of Anarchy is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

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