Tommy Flanagan rocks on in Hollywood as biker gang drama takes off | Daily Record 

Scots actor Tommy Flanagan rocks on in Hollywood as biker gang drama takes off

TOUGH guy actor Tommy Flanagan still has to pinch himself every time he wakes up in his home in the hills above Malibu.

The boy from Glasgow\'s tough Easterhouse scheme never dreamt of a career in acting, never mind one which has seen him appear in some of Hollywod\'s biggest hits, including Braveheart and Gladiator.

Now he is starring in one of America\'s most popular TV shows, Sons of Anarchy.

The show, about Harley Davidson-riding biker outlaws, starts filming its third series next month and Tommy can\'t wait to get back in the saddle as hard-as-nails biker Chibs.

He said: "I am loving it. I get to ride motorcycles and hang around with great people all the time. It is just great.

"I even get to take the bike home at the end of the day. It is black, chrome and customised especially for me - it\'s as cool as hell."

Sons of Anarchy follows the lives of a Californian motorbike gang run by Clay Morrow, played by Ron Perlman, and the son of Clay\'s wife Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam).

The acclaimed show is written and produced by Kurt Sayer, who also wrote The Shield, and he was keen to get the cast involved in the development of their characters.

This was something Tommy, 44, was particularly pleased about when he heard the writers\' attempts at Glasgow slang.

He said: "Kurt really likes to involve us in the writing process which is great, especially after his first attempts at writing my dialogue. He had found some stuff on the internet but it was all: \'teuchtar, hoots mon\' type of stuff. "I told him I would do it myself, thank you very much.

"He is brilliant though and there is a lot more to the show than just violence. There is a lot of emotion too, which I enjoy."

Filming Sons of Anarchy is also a fantastic experience for Tommy because he gets on so well with the rest of the cast.

He said: "We all have such a laugh together.

"Ron Perlman - you know, the guy from Hellboy - is one funny guy and then, of course, there is also Charlie Hunnam on set too.

"He and I go way back and because he is from Newcastle and I am from Glasgow we are the same kind of guys."

In the UK, Sons of Anarchy is just beginning to get a firm fan base with series one being shown on Five USA and season two about to start on Bravo, but in America the show is massive.

So much so that Tommy cannot walk the streets anymore without being recognised.

He said: "It is unbelievable. I don\'t mind it at all because it is part of the job and people have kind of known me since I did Braveheart.

"But ever since Sons of Anarchy hit the screens it has become incredible.

"I suppose it is also because I am hard to miss as I am 6ft 1in tall with a huge scar on my face."

Tommy recently bumped into old friend Mel Gibson, the man who gave him his first big break in Braveheart, in a Hollywood restaurant. Tommy said: "I was sitting having a meal the other night when I heard someone say my name as they walked by.

"I looked up and realised it was Mel so we started chatting away.

"He said to me. \'My god Flanagan, you can actually speak English now\'.

"So I got the waiter to take over a glass of milk to him.

"Next thing I know he is giving me the finger across the restaurant, so I give him a two-finger salute right back."

Hanging out in Malibu, chatting to A-List friends and being recognised in the street is all a long way from Tommy\'s early years in Easterhouse.

He said: "It is all such an unbelievably long way from my roots.

"I mean it is not just a case of pinching myself, I have to give myself a good slap from time to time.

"Acting never crossed my mind for a moment when I was growing up, but after I was attacked it was Robert Carlyle and Caroline Paterson, who had created the Raindog theatre company, who suggested that I should take up acting.

"I literally fell through the door into it. I mean I was just in Glasgow getting caught up with stuff and one day Bobby asked me why I didn\'t get into acting.

"At first I thought no way, but before I knew it I was on a stage, terrified out of my mind and about to give my first performance.

"And it was watching these guys and the likes of Peter Mullan that I learnt how to be an actor.

"If it wasn\'t for all of them I wouldn\'t be where I am today. It is actually quite an unbelievable story.

"I know I am very fortunate to be where I am now, working away."

Tommy is undeniably happier than ever. Not only has he succeeded where many have failed in carving out a career for himself in Hollywood, he has also found happiness with the woman in his life Dina, who also happens to be a film producer.

He said: "She is my babe and a gorgeous producer too.

"She is from Palm Springs and is a total Californian girl. She is wonderful."

Although even living in California can\'t stop Tommy from getting homesick every now and then.

Being a typical Glaswegian though, he also can\'t help rubbing in the delights of his new life to those back home.

He said: "I do miss Glasgow but Malibu is home now.

"I love it here and when I do go back to Scotland it takes me a bit of time to acclimatise.

"I am a spoilt so-and-so. I live in the mountains of Malibu in the most gorgeous house and I phone my mum every day and tell her that I have got bad news - that it is only 70 degrees here."

Sons of Anarchy is on Five USA on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10pm. Series two starts on Bravo on April 28.

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