recast its original Clay actor, but there’s still one scene where you can spot him. Sons of Anarchy arrived in 2008 to take the audience into the world of motorcycle clubs. Set in the fictional town of Charming, California, Sons of Anarchy focuses on the many ups and downs of the title MC. Initially led by President Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) and VP Jackson “Jax” Teller (Charlie Hunnam), the club earned various enemies throughout seven seasons, and went through key changes in its hierarchy.

Despite being the President of SAMCRO for years, Sons of Anarchy revealed that Clay was more of an antagonist than a hero, taking the club on questionable paths and always putting his own interests first. Clay was one of the main characters of Sons of Anarchy until his death in season 6, and Perlman’s performance is one of the best things about the show. However, Clay could have been very different had he not been recast, and there’s one scene in the pilot episode where the original actor can be spotted.

Scott Glenn’s Clay Can Be Spotted In Just 1 Scene In Sons of Anarchy’s Pilot

Scott Glenn Played Clay In Sons of Anarchy’s Pilot Episode

Sons of Anarchy originally had a different actor playing Clay: Scott Glenn. The actor shot the pilot episode as Clay, but when Ron Perlman was cast as his replacement, all of Clay's scenes were re-shot with Perlman. Sons of Anarchy’s first episode is a great introduction to Jax, the club, the issues they usually face, and the tone of the show, and it’s a heavy start to the show. In it, after SAMCRO loses a shipment of weapons, their warehouse is destroyed by the Mayans. Later, Juice (Theo Rossi) traces the stolen weapons to a Mayans’ warehouse.

SAMCRO plans an attack on the Mayans' warehouse for stealing their weapons and burning their warehouse down. Clay, Jax, Tig (Kim Coates), Chibs (Tommy Flanagan), and Juice arrive at the Mayans’ warehouse and find not only their weapons but the Mayans’ stash of heroin, too. After getting rid of a group of guards, among them a member of the Nordics, Jax and company blow up the Mayans’ warehouse, pretty much like they did with theirs.

Now, the only scene where Scott Glenn can be seen as Clay is when the Mayans’ warehouse explodes. Because it’s a night scene, it’s easy to miss that the one running with Jax, Juice, Chibs, and Tig isn’t Ron Perlman, but when looking closely at the scene, you can see it’s Scott Glenn. The next scene sees Perlman’s Clay in the car, looking at the warehouse exploding, making it even easier for Glenn’s only scene to get lost amid the action.

Why Scott Glenn Was Replaced By Ron Perlman As Clay In Sons of Anarchy

Ron Perlman Took Over Scott Glenn’s Sons of Anarchy Role Right Away

Despite Scott Glenn filming the Sons of Anarchy pilot episode as Clay, series creator Kurt Suter decided to go in a different direction with the character. Speaking to Fresh Air in 2014, Perlman shared he auditioned for the role of Clay because there was another actor cast, but the network realized they weren’t getting what they hoped for. However, because the network liked Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy concept, they agreed to reshoot the pilot and start over again if they could find the right actor to play Clay.

[Scott Glenn] would have been an interesting version of Clay, bringing out sides of the character that probably weren’t present in Perlman’s performance.

Although Perlman was asked about why the original Clay actor didn’t work, he didn’t reply out of respect, simply saying that he’s a brilliant actor but has a very subtle style, which wasn’t quite fitting with Clay. It’s hard to say if Clay would have had the same impact with a more subtle actor like Scott Glenn, as Clay is anything but subtle and quiet, but he would have been an interesting version of Clay, bringing out sides of the character that probably weren’t present in Perlman’s performance – but, ultimately, Ron Perlman’s performance was key to Sons of Anarchy’s success.

Source: Fresh Air.