After the shocking events of the Season Six finale, Sons of Anarchy returned to the airwaves last night for the seventh and final season, with an extended premiere episode that saw Jax seeking revenge for his wife’s death, setting SAMCRO on a dangerous path that will no doubt lead to plenty of violence before the series comes to an end later this year.

Series mainstay Kim Coates has portrayed fan favorite Alex “Tig” Trager for the show’s entire run, and while he’s certainly had a few close calls over the year, at the time of this writing his character is still above ground. In this exclusive interview conducted just a few hours prior to the season premiere, Kim took some time to chat with us about the impact of last year’s finale, Tig’s uncanny ability to survive, and the possibility of romance in the coming weeks.

[WARNING: Spoilers for the Sons of Anarchy season premiere below]

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I’d like to go back to the conversation we had last year around this time. You were making predictions, and saying that you truly believed, when everything was said and done, that nobody was going to make it out alive. With everything that happened last season, it seems like we’re heading in that direction. Are you still sticking with that prediction, or do you think there may still be some salvation for some of the boys?

I’m so glad you asked that, because I should know better. Every time a fan or cast members may think they know what’s going to happen in the future, they’ll be completely wrong. I’m not kidding. Kurt Sutter is the only one , and I’m not even sure he knows how it’s really going to end – I really think he’s got an idea – but it’s changing as we go, man.

I didn’t think too many of us were going to be left. We’re in the ninth episode right now, obviously I can’t give anything away. It’s a little bit lonely on the road of SOA paradise right now, for sure, but there’s still a few of us standing, so let’s just see what happens by the end of the year.

Tig is a character that, realistically, probably should have died several times over at this point. What is it about Tig that makes him so resilient?

I don’t know, man. Tig should have been gone, like you said, five or ten times. I think it was Ryan Hurst who said to me, early in the second season, he said “Kurt Sutter has found Tig’s voice earlier than most.” He really tapped into something with Tig, whether it was the fear of dolls, or the weird stuff that I was doing. The brotherhood, the toughness, the crying, the humor… I don’t know, but he tapped into it early.

I remember those early reviews, Tig was a character you hated to love and loved to hate, but now he’s almost on the outside looking in, bro. He’s lost Clay, he’s ripped his Sergeant-at-Arms patch off his cut, and Gemma and him have hardly anything to do with each other anymore, which is kind of sad for me. I’m saving dogs and transgenders, which is awesome, but Jax really keeps Bobby and Chibs super close, and I’m still half an arm-length away, which is really cool for me, to keep playing that “do we trust each other one hundred percent” thing.

But with this show, you know it’s so full of lies right now. It’s so full of secrets, it’s so full of dark stuff that is happening in this final season, and Tig’s on the outside looking in, bro. I’m still alive, and I love playing this guy. Sutter’s got a tough job writing for all of us all the time, its almost impossible, but when he does write for Tig, I get some of the best stuff, for sure.

I’m glad you mentioned Sutter finding Tig’s voice. I think one of the things that makes Tig such an endearing character is that there are so many layers. He’s just a little bit of everything, and I don’t think anyone can watch the show and not find something about Tig they can relate to – which, as an actor, must be nice to have so much to play with.

It is, it really, truly is. I remember when they were reshooting the pilot – and I’m sorry if you know this story, but l’m gonna tell it again briefly. They shot the pilot, and I was not in the pilot, and neither was Ron Perlman. They had to recast Clay, and they recast Clay with Ron Perlman, and they didn’t have Tig, they didn’t have that Sergeant-at-Arms. They made a mistake and realized they needed one, and they cast me.

And I remember knowing little about one-percenters – I’d been riding my whole life, but I knew little about the real dark lives of one-percenters, these clubs – and I told Sutter “you’ve gotta show me something. I’m a movie guy, I’ve done over 50 movies, and I need to know [what this role will be].” And he said “I don’t have that much,” but he showed me one scene, and the scene was so dark, it was so dark I looked at him and I said “you know what, this isn’t gonna be for me. I’m very picky with my bad boys, and it’s not gonna be for me, thank you very much.” I had no desire to play just a real dark, sociopathic character.

And he looked at me – and I’ll never forget this – he looked at me and said “Kim, this is why we want you. This guy is gonna be twisted, he’s gonna be tough, but he’s also gonna be soft, he’s gonna be funny. He’s loyal, he’s the toughest lapdog you’d ever want to be around. He’s sexy, he’s funny. Please, come along on this ride.”

And so I trusted him, and I’m really glad that I did. It was the greatest decision I’ve ever made, certainly for my television career. And the people I get to work with every day, it’s been an incredible experience, and I’ll never forget it. So yeah, Tig is just that guy that women and men just can’t get enough of, or when they get it in the wrong ways, they’re still learning to understand how he works. I’m always full of surprises, and that’s due to Kurt Sutter and me playing the guy. It’s been a great combination.

It almost feels like Sutter is channeling a bit of himself when he writes for Tig. You mentioned earlier that no matter how much you try to figure out where Sutter’s head is at, you can’t get ahead of him, and I feel like the character of Tig is much the same way. Every time you have him pegged, he does something completely out of the blue that takes everyone by surprise.

That is such a great comment, brother. I’m gonna tell Sutter you said that. That is really and truly a great comment. I do think Kurt’s got some of himself in a lot of characters, like little bits of himself, I really do. But let’s not kid ourselves, this whole fear of dolls, that’s Sutter. That is him.

He tells this story of when he was young, and these little glass dolls from the fair would freak him the you-know-what out. And then Tig got that phobia, and I’m really glad I got that from Sutter, and I’m sure a few other things as well. But yeah, I think he sprinkles a little bit of himself in a lot of characters, and certainly he’s got his fingers into Tig.

I would agree with that. Also, don’t feel like you need to censor yourself. We’re not bound by standards and practices, you can say whatever you want.

Okay, cool brother.

So let’s go back to the end of last season…

Fuck yeah! [laughs]

Click here for Part Two of our interview with Kim Coates, where he discusses the impact of the Season Six finale, Tig’s relationship with Venus Van Dam, and his favorite onscreen death.