Kurt Leon Sutter (born May 5, 1960) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He worked as a writer, director, and executive producer on The Shield, and appeared on the show as hitman Margos Dezerian. Sutter is also the creator of Sons of Anarchy and its spinoff Mayans M.C. on FX; he wrote, produced, and directed the series, as well as played incarcerated club member Otto Delaney. Sutter spent time with members of an outlaw motorcycle club in Northern California as research for Sons of Anarchy.[2] Sutter's wife, actress Katey Sagal, played main character Gemma Teller.
Kurt Sutter | |
|---|---|
 Sutter in 2012 | |
| Born | May 5, 1960[1] Rahway, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | Rutgers University Northern Illinois University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Early life
editSutter was born in Rahway, New Jersey. His father worked at the General Motors plant in Linden, New Jersey, and his mother was a secretary for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. He has two older sisters.[3] He grew up in the township of Clark, New Jersey[3] and graduated from Roselle Catholic High School in 1982.[3]
Sutter attended Livingston College for the journalism department of Rutgers University—which was located there—eventually graduating from Rutgers University with a BA in mass media with a minor in English in 1986. He moved to New York City and studied Meisner technique, did theater, and taught at the Gately/Poole Conservatory.[3] Sutter then attended Northern Illinois University for three years, starting in 1997, to obtain his M.F.A. in performance and directing.[3]
Career
editSutter was hired as a staff writer for the first season of FX crime drama The Shield in 2002. He made his television acting debut with the episode "Blowback", in which he appeared as Armenian mob hitman Margos Dezerian. He co-wrote the episodes "Dragonchasers" and "Two Days of Blood" with fellow staff writer Scott Rosenbaum, and was promoted to story editor for the second season in 2003. He wrote the episodes "Scar Tissue" and "Dead Soldiers" and in 2004, joined the production team in the junior role of co-producer for the third season. He continued to write episodes and scripted "Playing Tight" and "Mum" with series creator and executive producer Shawn Ryan, "Slipknot" solo, and "Fire in the Hole" with consulting producer Charles H. Eglee. He reprised his role as Dezerian in the season's final episodes "All In" and "On Tilt".
He was promoted to supervising producer for the fourth season in 2005. He wrote the episode "Grave" solo, co-wrote the story for the episode "Judas Priest" with Eglee and co-wrote the teleplay with Rosenbaum. He co-wrote the story for the season finale "Ain't That a Shame" with Ryan; Ryan co-wrote the teleplay for the episode with co-executive producer Glen Mazzara. Sutter became a co-executive producer for the fifth season in 2006. He wrote the episode "Extraction", co-wrote the episode "Trophy" with Renee Palya and Tony Soltis, and co-wrote the season's penultimate episode "Fire in the Hole" with Eglee.
He became an executive producer for the sixth season in 2007, directed a promotional mini-episode for the sixth season entitled "Wins and Losses," and wrote the sixth-season premiere "On the Jones". He co-wrote the episode "Exiled" with Rosenbaum, also now an executive producer.
Sutter returned as an executive producer and writer for the seventh and final season in 2008. He wrote the premiere "Coefficient of Drag" and co-wrote the episode "Parricide" with Gary Lennon. At the close of the season he was the series' second most prolific writer (after Ryan), having written or co-written 18 episodes in total.
Also in 2008, Sutter created and executive produced a new series for FX entitled Sons of Anarchy. The show centers on the titular motorcycle club in a fictitious town called Charming in California. He was the series head writer and showrunner. Along with the pilot episode he wrote the episodes "Seeds", "Fun Town", "Capybara", "The Sleep of Babies", and the season finale "The Revelator". He would go on to write 61 of the show's 92 episodes. Sutter appears in the show as incarcerated club member Otto Delaney, and he cast his wife Katey Sagal in the starring role as the club's matriarch Gemma Teller Morrow. Sutter also hired several crew members whom he had worked with on The Shield, including unit production manager and producer Kevin G. Cremin, post-production supervisor and producer Craig Yahata, and directors Guy Ferland, Stephen Kay, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Paris Barclay, Terrence O'Hara, and Billy Gierhart. The first season also featured The Shield star Jay Karnes as a recurring special guest star playing ATF Agent Joshua Kohn.[4] This is a trend that continued in later seasons with the majority of the main cast of The Shield appearing in later episodes in a variety of different roles.
Sutter remained showrunner and executive producer for the series' second season in 2009. He wrote the season premiere "Albification", co-wrote the episode "Eureka" with Brett Conrad, co-wrote the episode "Gilead" with co-producer Chris Collins, co-wrote the episode "Potlatch" with Misha Green, co-wrote the teleplay for the episode "Service" with co-executive producer Jack LoGiudice from a story by Brady Dahl and Cory Udica, co-wrote the episode "The Culling" with consulting producer Dave Erickson, and wrote and directed the season finale "Na Trioblóidí". The second season featured The Shield star Kenny Johnson as a special guest star playing a club member named Kozik.
Sutter returned as showrunner and executive producer for the third season in 2010. He wrote the season premiere "SO", co-wrote the episode "Oiled" with Erickson, now a co-executive producer, co-wrote the episode "Home" with Liz Sagal, series' star Katey Sagal's sister and his sister-in-law. He co-wrote the episode "Widening Gyre" with co-producer Regina Corrado and the episode "Lochan Mor" with Erickson and Liz Sagal. He wrote the story for the episode "Turas"; the teleplay was co-written by Collins (now a producer) and Dahl. He co-wrote the episode "Firinne" with Vaunn Wilmott and the episode "Bainne" with Corrado and Erickson. He wrote the story for the episode "June Wedding"; Collins wrote the teleplay. He reprised the role of Otto in the season finale, titled "NS", which he also directed and co-wrote with Erickson. Johnson returned as Kozik in the third season. He would go on to produce seven seasons of Sons. The show concluded airing in December 2014.
In 2010, DreamWorks picked up Sutter's film script, Southpaw, and Eminem was eyed for the lead role. The film was dropped by DreamWorks in 2011,[5][6] and was later picked up by MGM and Columbia Pictures.[7] Antoine Fuqua directed the film, and Jake Gyllenhaal replaced Eminem in the lead. Rachel McAdams, Rita Ora, 50 Cent, and Forest Whitaker also appeared in the film.[8] Southpaw was released on July 24, 2015, by The Weinstein Company.[9]
In 2014, it was announced Sutter had begun developing The Bastard Executioner, a new series for FX, The series was ordered to pilot on December 12, 2014.[10] Katey Sagal, Lee Jones, and Stephen Moyer signed on to join the cast of the pilot.[11][12] On May 22, 2015, the pilot was ordered to series with a 10-episode launch to premiere on September 15, 2015, on FX. The series was cancelled after one season.[13][14] He went on to create the Sons of Anarchy spinoff Mayans M.C. In October 2019, Sutter was fired from FX after multiple complaints were lodged against him about his "abrasive" and "unprofessional" behavior.[15] Sutter appeared in the 2021 science fiction film Chaos Walking, his first feature film acting role.[16]
Comic books
editIn 2016, Sutter produced a six-issue comic book miniseries with Boom! Studios entitled Lucas Stand. The first issue was released on June 1, 2016.[17] He also worked on a comic book called Sisters of Sorrow; the book was launched at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con.[18]
Projects in development
editIn May 2021, it was announced that Sutter would direct a horror film titled This Beast for Netflix.[19] In November 2021, it was announced that he would create a western series titled The Abandons for Netflix.[20]
Influences
editSutter has stated he's had multiple influences in his writing style, including William Shakespeare, specifically his play Hamlet. He based the characters of Sons of Anarchy on Hamlet. Other cultural influences include Mad Magazine, Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and the television show Hill Street Blues, among others.[21]
Personal life
editSutter moved to Los Angeles in 2000.[3] Sutter married actress Katey Sagal in a private ceremony on October 2, 2004, at their home in Los Feliz, California.[22] Their first child, daughter Esme Louise, was born January 10, 2007. Esme was carried by a surrogate mother.[23]
Sutter is an animal rights activist, and is vegan.[24] He is also a motorcycle enthusiast.[25]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Film | Actor | Director | Writer | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Southpaw | No | No | Yes | N/A | |
| 2021 | Chaos Walking | Yes | No | No | Cillian Boyd | |
| TBA | This Beast | TBA | Yes | TBA |
Television
editActor
edit| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–2004 | The Shield | Margos Dezerian | 4 episodes |
| 2008–2013 | Sons of Anarchy | "Big" Otto Delaney | 20 episodes |
| 2015 | The Bastard Executioner | The Dark Mute | 9 episodes |
Producer
edit| Year | Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002–2008 | The Shield | Credited as:
Executive producer (Seasons 6–7) |
| 2008–2014 | Sons of Anarchy | Executive producer |
| 2015 | The Bastard Executioner | Executive producer |
| 2018–2023 | Mayans M.C. | Executive producer |
Writer
edit| Year | Show | Season | Episode title | Episode | Original airdate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Mayans M.C. | 2 | "Hunahpu" | 10 | November 5, 2019 | |
| "Itzam-Ye" | 9 | October 29, 2019 | Co-written with Elgin James | |||
| "Xbalanque" | 1 | September 3, 2019 | ||||
| 2018 | 1 | "Cuervo/Tz'ikb'ull" | 10 | November 6, 2018 | ||
| "Serpiente/Chikchan" | 9 | October 30, 2018 | Co-written with Sean Tretta | |||
| "Murcielago/Zotz" | 4 | September 25, 2018 | Co-written with Santa Sierra | |||
| "Escorpion/Dzec" | 2 | September 11, 2018 | ||||
| "Perro/Oc" | 1 | September 4, 2018 | ||||
| 2015 | The Bastard Executioner | 1 | "Effigy/Delw" | 3 | September 22, 2015 | Co-written with Charles Murray and Nichole Beattie |
| "Pilot, Part 2" | 2 | September 15, 2015 | ||||
| "Pilot, Part 1" | 1 | September 15, 2015 | ||||
| 2014 | Sons of Anarchy | 7 | "Papa's Goods" | 13 | December 9, 2014 | |
| "Red Rose" | 12 | December 2, 2014 | Co-written with Charles Murray | |||
| "Suits of Woe" | 11 | November 18, 2014 | Co-written with Peter Elkoff and Mike Daniel | |||
| "Faith and Despondency" | 10 | November 11, 2014 | Co-written with Kem Nunn and Gladys Rodriguez | |||
| "What a Piece of Work is Man" | 9 | November 4, 2014 | Co-written with Mike Daniels and Roberto Patino | |||
| "The Separation of Crows" | 8 | October 28, 2014 | Co-written with Peter Elkoff and John Barcheski | |||
| "Greensleeves" | 7 | October 21, 2014 | Co-written with Gladys Rodriguez and Josh Botana | |||
| "Smoke 'em If You Got 'em" | 6 | October 14, 2014 | Co-written with Mike Daniels | |||
| "Some Strange Eruption" | 5 | October 7, 2014 | Co-written with Roberto Patino | |||
| "Poor Little Lambs" | 4 | September 30, 2014 | Co-written with Kem Nunn | |||
| "Playing with Monsters" | 3 | September 23, 2014 | Co-written with Peter Elkoff | |||
| "Toil and Till" | 2 | September 16, 2014 | Co-written with Kem Nunn | |||
| "Black Widower" | 1 | September 9, 2014 | ||||
| 2013 | 6 | "A Mother's Work" | 13 | December 10, 2013 | Co-written with Chris Collins | |
| "You Are My Sunshine" | 12 | December 3, 2013 | Co-written with Kem Nunn and Mike Daniels | |||
| "Aon Rud Persanta" | 11 | November 19, 2013 | Co-written with Chris Collins | |||
| "Huang Wu" | 10 | November 12, 2013 | Co-written with Charles Murray | |||
| "John 8:32" | 9 | November 5, 2013 | Co-written with Kem Nunn | |||
| "Los Fantasmas" | 8 | October 29, 2013 | Co-written with Roberto Patino | |||
| "Sweet and Vaded" | 7 | October 22, 2013 | Co-written with Adria Lang | |||
| "Salvage" | 6 | October 15, 2013 | Co-written with Mike Daniels | |||
| "The Mad King" | 5 | October 8, 2013 | Co-written with Roberto Patino and Chris Collins | |||
| "Wolfsangel" | 4 | October 1, 2013 | Co-written with Kem Nunn | |||
| "Poenitentia" | 3 | September 24, 2013 | Co-written with Charles Murray | |||
| "Straw" | 1 | September 10, 2013 | ||||
| 2012 | 5 | "J'ai Obtenu Cette" | 13 | December 4, 2012 | Co-written with Chris Collins | |
| "Darthy" | 12 | November 27, 2012 | Co-written with Chris Collins | |||
| "To Thine Own Self" | 11 | November 20, 2012 | Co-written with Mike Daniels and John Barcheski | |||
| "Andare Pescare" | 9 | November 6, 2012 | Co-written with Liz Sagal | |||
| "Toad's Wild Ride" | 7 | October 23, 2012 | Co-written with Chris Collins | |||
| "Orca Shrugged" | 5 | October 9, 2012 | Co-written with Regina Corrado | |||
| "Laying Pipe" | 3 | September 25, 2012 | Co-written with Kem Nunn and Liz Sagal | |||
| "Sovereign" | 1 | September 11, 2012 | ||||
| 2011 | 4 | "To Be, Act 2" | 14 | December 6, 2011 | Co-written with Chris Collins | |
| "To Be, Act 1" | 13 | November 29, 2011 | Co-written with Chris Collins | |||
| "Burnt and Purged Away" | 12 | November 22, 2011 | Co-written with Dave Erickson | |||
| "Hands" | 10 | November 8, 2011 | Co-written with Chris Collins and David LaBrava | |||
| "Fruit for the Crows" | 7 | October 18, 2011 | Co-written with Liz Sagal | |||
| "Una Venta" | 4 | September 27, 2011 | Co-written with Marco Ramirez | |||
| "Out" | 1 | September 6, 2011 | ||||
| 2010 | 3 | "NS" | 13 | November 30, 2010 | Co-written with Dave Erickson | |
| "June Wedding" | 12 | November 23, 2010 | Story by Sutter, teleplay by Chris Collins | |||
| "Bainne" | 11 | November 16, 2010 | Co-written with Dave Erickson and Regina Corrado | |||
| "Fírinne" | 10 | November 9, 2010 | Co-written with Vaun Wilmott | |||
| "Turas" | 9 | November 2, 2010 | Story by Sutter, teleplay co-written by Chris Collins and Brady Dahl | |||
| "Lochan Mor" | 8 | October 26, 2010 | Co-written with Dave Erickson and Liz Sagal | |||
| "Widening Gyre" | 7 | October 19, 2010 | Co-written with Regina Corrado | |||
| "Home" | 4 | September 28, 2010 | Co-written with Liz Sagal | |||
| "Oiled" | 2 | September 14, 2010 | Co-written with Dave Erickson | |||
| "SO" | 1 | September 7, 2010 | ||||
| 2009 | 2 | "Na Trioblóidí" | 13 | December 1, 2009 | ||
| "The Culling" | 12 | November 24, 2009 | Co-written with Dave Erickson | |||
| "Service" | 11 | November 17, 2009 | Teleplay co-written with Jack LoGiudice from a story by Brady Dahl and Cori Udica | |||
| "Potlatch" | 8 | October 27, 2009 | Co-written with Misha Green | |||
| "Gilead" | 7 | October 20, 2009 | Co-written with Chris Collins | |||
| "Eureka" | 4 | September 29, 2009 | Co-written with Brett Conrad | |||
| "Albification" | 1 | September 8, 2009 | ||||
| 2008 | 1 | "The Revelator" | 13 | November 26, 2008 | ||
| "The Sleep of Babies" | 12 | November 19, 2008 | ||||
| "Capybara" | 11 | November 12, 2008 | Co-written with Dave Erickson | |||
| "The Pull" | 8 | October 22, 2008 | Co-written with Jack LoGiudice | |||
| "Fun Town" | 3 | September 17, 2008 | ||||
| "Seeds" | 2 | September 10, 2008 | ||||
| "Pilot" | 1 | September 3, 2008 | ||||
| The Shield | 7 | "Parricide" | 8 | October 21, 2008 | Co-written with Gary Lennon | |
| "Coefficient of Drag" | 1 | September 2, 2008 | ||||
| 2007 | 6 | "Exiled" | 7 | May 15, 2007 | Co-written with Scott Rosenbaum | |
| "On The Jones" | 1 | April 3, 2007 | ||||
| 2006 | 5 | "Of Mice and Lem" | 10 | March 14, 2006 | Co-written with Charles H. Eglee | |
| "Trophy" | 5 | February 7, 2006 | Co-written with Renee Palya and Tony Soltis | |||
| "Extraction" | 1 | January 10, 2006 | ||||
| 2005 | 4 | "Ain't That a Shame" | 13 | June 14, 2005 | Story co-written with Shawn Ryan, teleplay by Ryan and Glen Mazzara | |
| "Judas Priest" | 12 | June 7, 2005 | Story co-written with Charles H. Eglee, teleplay co-written with Scott Rosenbaum | |||
| "Grave" | 2 | March 22, 2005 | ||||
| 2004 | 3 | "Fire in the Hole" | 13 | June 1, 2004 | Co-written with Charles H. Eglee | |
| "Slipknot" | 9 | May 4, 2004 | ||||
| "Mum" | 5 | April 6, 2004 | Co-written with Shawn Ryan | |||
| "Playing Tight" | 1 | March 9, 2004 | Co-written with Shawn Ryan | |||
| 2003 | 2 | "Scar Tissue" | 8 | February 25, 2003 | ||
| "Dead Soldiers" | 2 | January 14, 2003 | ||||
| 2002 | 1 | "Two Days of Blood" | 12 | May 28, 2002 | Co-written with Scott Rosenbaum | |
| "Dragonchasers" | 10 | May 14, 2002 | Co-written with Scott Rosenbaum | |||
| "Blowback" | 5 | April 9, 2002 |
Director
edit| Year | Show | Season | Episode title | Episode | Original airdate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Sons of Anarchy | 7 | "Papa's Goods" | 13 | December 9, 2014 | Series finale |
| 2013 | 6 | A Mother's Work | 13 | December 10, 2013 | Season finale | |
| 2012 | 5 | "J'ai Obtenu Cette" | 13 | December 4, 2012 | Season finale | |
| 2011 | 4 | "To Be, Act 2" | 14 | December 6, 2011 | Season finale Pt. 2 | |
| "To Be, Act 1" | 13 | November 29, 2011 | Season finale Pt. 1 | |||
| 2010 | 3 | "NS" | 13 | November 30, 2010 | Season finale | |
| 2009 | 2 | "Na Triobloidi" | 13 | December 1, 2009 | Season finale | |
| 2008 | 1 | "The Revelator" | 13 | November 26, 2008 | Season finale | |
| 2007 | The Shield | 6 | "Wins and Losses" | 0 | February 15, 2007 | Promotional short for season 6 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "'Bastard Executioner's' Kurt Sutter on His Troubled Past, C-Word Insults and New 'Sons of Anarchy' Spinoff". The Hollywood Reporter. August 26, 2015.
- ^ Kurutz, Steven (November 30, 2009). ""Sons of Anarchy" Creator Kurt Sutter On the Cult Biker Show". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ a b c d e f Barone, Matt (February 3, 2011). "Favorite Son: Kurt Sutter grew up dreaming beyond Jersey". NewJersey.com. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
- ^ "Jay Karnes to recur on 'Anarchy'". The Hollywood Reporter. July 6, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ^ Deadline.com
- ^ Deadline.com
- ^ "MGM closes Eminem pic 'Southpaw'". Variety. October 20, 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022.
- ^ Deadline.com
- ^ Rolling Stone
- ^ Deadline.com
- ^ Deadline.com
- ^ Deadline.com
- ^ Deadline.com
- ^ "FX Renews 'The Strain,' Sets Premiere Dates for 'AHS: Hotel' and More". Variety. August 7, 2015. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (October 17, 2019). "Kurt Sutter Fired From FX for Being an "Abrasive Dick" (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- ^ Busch, Anita (August 9, 2017). "Kurt Sutter Joins 'Chaos Walking' Cast". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
- ^ "Sons Of Anarchy's Creator Kurt Sutter's New Comic Series Sounds Violent, Awesome And Perfect For TV". CINEMABLEND. March 26, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 21, 2016). "From Bikers To Nuns With Guns; Kurt Sutter Hatches 'Sisters Of Sorrow' Comic Book Series". Deadline. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- ^ Campbell, Scott (May 9, 2021). "Kurt Sutter Making Directorial Debut With Blumhouse-Produced 'This Beast' for Netflix". Collider.
- ^ Massoto, Erick (November 29, 2021). "'Sons of Anarchy's Kurt Sutter to Make Western Series 'The Abandons' for Netflix". Collider.
- ^ "Kurt Sutter Explains His Cultural Influences". Vlulture.com. September 8, 2013.
- ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (October 5, 2004). "Married Actress Katey Sagal Weds Writer - Marriage, Katey Sagal". People. Archived from the original on March 20, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
- ^ Katey Sagal Has Surrogate Daughter at 51 By WENN.com | Thursday, January 11, 2007
- ^ "Pop Guns". SutterInk. January 25, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
- ^ "Sons of Anarchy bike on auction". November 25, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
External links
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