There is an interesting casting that was announced at Paleyfest 2012 that Sons of Anarchy fans will want to know about. Creator and showrunner Kurt Sutter told THR that celebrity body guard, actor, radio show host and ex-Hell’s Angel, Chuck Zito (Oz) will join SOA in Season 5 where he will play a nomad who wanders into Charming. Sutter also said that the role of Damien Pope, who was introduced in the Season 4 finale has yet to be filled.
There’s an interesting back story to this casting. Zito had pitched a show about a motorcycle club called Nomads (AKA The Wild Angels) to FX chief John Landgraf back in 2004. FX passed and in 2006 went forward with Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy. Zito eventually sued FX for $5 million in the spring of 2010 and lost this past December 2011, when it was ruled that SOA was independently created. THR followed up with Zito who stated that he and Sutter “Buried the hatchet,” and looks forward to joining cast in the new season.
The hatchet he is referring to is some fairly harsh words Sutter had on his blog for those who claimed Sons of Anarchy to be a stolen idea. He has since taken them down from his blog because he believed that his words might have caused tension between Zito and members of the Motorcycle Club community that Sutter uses as technical advisers for the show. We’re glad they were able to put this behind them as Zito should be a great addition to the cast.
Now it will be interesting to see just what kind of “nomad” Zito will be. Will he be a nomad, in the literal sense that’s just passing through Charming for an episode or a limited story arc? Or will he be a Nomad, as in a member of a rival bike club that Zito based his show pitch on? If you’ve heard Zito’s stories on his occasional radio show on Howard Stern’s Sirius Channel 101, or you’ve watched him in Oz, you know that Zito can be one scary and intimidating mofo; so he’ll be a great addition to SOA. Let’s just hope he’ll talk about his experiences shooting his episodes on his radio show in the future.
We’ll have to wait to find out who’s side he’s on, but until then, let the speculation begin.








