Actress Bolger takes pivotal role in FX’s spinoff ‘Mayans MC’
LOS ANGELES — Sarah Bolger’s name comes up later in the mentions of the stars of the new FX spinoff series “Mayans MC.” But her character, Emily Thomas, plays an extremely important part in the next chapter of Kurt Sutter’s “Sons of Anarchy” saga.
“I think she is very integral to the story … . She lives in her own bubble of sorts, on a metaphorical hill where stories come crashing into her world,” the Dublin native says.
Why her role is so pivotal is just one of the many closely guarded secrets that will be revealed when the 10-episode season debuts at 9 p.m. Tuesday on FX.
What can be said is “Mayans MC” is set in a post-Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) world of “Sons of Anarchy” where the focus is on Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes ( JD Pardo). He has just been released from prison and is a promising prospect to become part of the Mayans MC charter that works along the California and Mexico border. Reyes must find his way in a town where he was once the golden boy.
Bolger comes to the series having starred in numerous series — “The Tudors” and “Into the Badlands,” to name two — where her characters have been strong women surrounded by intimidating men. In the case of “Mayans MC,” the strongest man in her life is Miguel Galindo (Danny Pino), who gave her a home when her childhood sweetheart was no longer around.
A role like Emily is the kind Bolger has wanted to do for years.
“This is not a character who gradually changes over time, but she has to change quickly like humans have to do when their worlds come crashing down around them. You will see her crash to the floor. You will see her bleed. You will see her cry,” Bolger says.
“With Emily Thomas, I just think this is a woman I dream to be like. She’s so pragmatic. There’s a strength that goes beyond anything I’ve experienced in my life. The way she has survived all that she’s felt, the pain in which losing a loved one and losing someone to prison, losing the life that she was destined to have, envisioned to have, the barrier she’s had to build for herself, the way she’s had to compose herself. And now, eight years later, as we meet her, she is a force to be reckoned with and is a joy to play every day.“
The biggest challenge for Bolger was dealing with the Spanish parts of the script. Because she didn’t speak Spanish before being cast in the series, Bolger has had to spend all her concentration on being able to deliver the lines with proper pronunciation while making sure what she’s saying sounds right. There are scenes when the Irish actor must deliver a line in Spanish and then the next in English using her American accent.