Why Kim Coates Almost Didn’t Play Tig Trager In Sons of Anarchy

Kim Coates played the unforgettable Tig Trager in Sons of Anarchy, but he initially turned the role down because of Tig’s personality.

Sons of Anarchy allowed the audience to get to know the members of the title club quite well, and one character who went through a lot is Tig Trager, played by Kim Coates, who almost passed on the opportunity to appear in the series. Led by Jackson “Jax” Teller (Charlie Hunnam), Sons of Anarchy took viewers to the fictional town of Charming, California, to take a look into the world of motorcycle clubs. Through Jax, Sons of Anarchy showed the many ups and downs that SAMCRO and its members went through, and in many cases, the club’s issues with other groups became personal and tragic, as happened to Tig.

At the beginning of Sons of Anarchy, Tig was SAMCRO’s Sgt-at-Arms and the right hand of the club’s then-president, Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman), so much so that he got in a lot of trouble thanks to Clay. Tig was responsible (either directly or indirectly) for some of Sons of Anarchy’s most tragic deaths, some of them the result of how impulsive and aggressive he used to be. Tig Trager ended up being one of the most popular and beloved characters in Sons of Anarchy, in big part thanks to Coates’ performance as a deeply broken but very loyal member of SAMCRO, but he almost passed on the chance to play this character.

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Sons of Anarchy: Kim Coate’s Believed Tig Was Too Psychotic

Now that Sons of Anarchy is over, Kim Coates’ performance as Tig Trager stands out as one of the best, but it almost didn’t happen as Coates had to be convinced to take the role. In an interview with Michael Rosenbaum for Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, Coates spoke about his experience as part of the cast of Sons of Anarchy and revealed that he initially turned down the offer to play Tig. Coates explained that he found Tig to be “too psychotic”, but Sutter managed to convince him, assuring him that, while Tig was “gonna be psychotic for sure”, he had other qualities, such as “a heart of gold”, he would be funny, the “moral compass of the club”, and he also promised the fun of riding a motorcycle.

Tig Trager is definitely one of the most impulsive and aggressive characters in Sons of Anarchy, to the point where he can be considered borderline antagonistic throughout the series’ first episodes/seasons, but as the series progressed, it revealed the reasons behind Tig’s personality, attitude, and views, allowing the audience to better understand the character. Sutter was right in telling Coates that Tig has a “heart of gold” and a sense of humor (though he might not exactly be the moral compass of the club), and Coates definitely embodied that and more when bringing Tig to life.

How Tig Trager Became One Of Sons of Anarchy’s Best Characters

Tig Trager is one of SAMCRO’s most loyal characters, so much so that he was blinded by his loyalty on various occasions, and that got him into major trouble too, such as when he killed Damon Pope’s daughter. As Sons of Anarchy progressed, the series showed Tig’s heart of gold by showing how compassionate and caring he is, and it became clear that his impulsiveness and other traits were just a cover. Tig also went through tragedies in Sons of Anarchy, most notably the death of one of his daughters, who was burned alive right in front of him. Tig Trager might be the one member of SAMCRO who went through the best character development in Sons of Anarchy, and he continues to be part of the club now as VP as Chibs Telford serves as President.

Next: Sons of Anarchy: Every SAMCRO Member Who Survived The Show