The camaraderie you see on Sons of Anarchy was no coincidence; the cast worked and played together as family. The husband-wife team Kurt Sutter and Katy Sagal invited the cast for get-togethers and celebrations, and sent out holiday greetings and notices of whenever Katy’s band was performing locally. Kurt made himself available to any cast member who had an issue or question, and scheduled meetings from time to time to discuss character and plot:

 7/24/08
Hey Kurt,

 I was just meaning to ask you if there was anything you think I should know about Half Sack’s future in terms of things I can be doing now to prepare?   When we talked about chopping off my hair the other day, you mentioned becoming a ringer for the club, it made me realize I should probably start boxing again, and I figured I’d check and see if there’s anything else I should be doing…

Anyways man, let me know what you think.  Hope all’s well.

–Johnny
7/24/08
Boxing is good. Episode 106. Patch decision will happen in season 2.  The more they bring you in the more committed you become.

KS —
iPhoned
to Kurt

  Sounds good, I’m on it…
Thanks,
–Johnny

to Johnny

My wife saw you jumping rope — she was very impressed.  The work’s been great, brother.  Best.k

The good feeling carried over into other professional venues, as well. During the first off-season hiatus, Sons of Anarchy producer John Linson helped grease the lines for Johnny’s casting in a key supporting role in Linson’s feature film, The Runaways. costarring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. It was a film tailor-made for a freespirited actor or actress in their teens or twenties — the story of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, a great all-women hard rock/punk band in the 1970s and 1980s. The producer also saw to it there were no scheduling conflicts between Johnny’s commitments to his TV series or the film.

But by the second season Johnny began to have misgivings with the direction the show was heading.