He's only been a part of the Sons of Anarchy world for two seasons, but Jimmy Smits has made an indelible impression as Nero Padilla. He's quickly become a fan favorite.
So, in light of the crazy events that befell SAMCRO and company on Sons of Anarchy Season 7 Episode 12, we were anxious to jump on the phone with the actor yesterday to see what he had to say about the death of Gemma, the future of Nero and the end of this beloved FX drama in general.
We've posted highlights from Smits' conference call with reporters below:
On recent episodes: "I've been continually shocked for the past five scripts in terms of, we're really blowing s--t up here! [Kurt Sutter] is really going for broke. It was always with a little bit of trepidation on everyone's part when that new script would come in…to see what was next and who was going to go down next."
On the finale: “I don't think audiences are going to be disappointed at all. I think they're going to very satisfied. It's touching in a lot of ways. It's sad... but it's grim, too."
On Nero’s reaction to Gemma’s death: “You’ll see more than guilt.... I think that Kurt ended it really beautifully and it has all of those elements that have been the signature of the show throughout the seven seasons. I was a little surprised, specifically about the way that Nero ends up. But I totally get it. I totally get it."
On whether Nero could have saved Gemma's life instead of Unser: "If Nero had gone, there probably would have been three dead bodies there! All of them would have gone down in some way. I think that was his big fear. He didn't want to have to make that particular choice.
"I don't think that the Nero character understood how profound and deep the relationship that Unser had with them also, or else he never would have sent him. I think because of the police element or line in Unser's character thread that was there, he would be able to exact some kind of calm in the situation."
Sons of Anarchy Season 7 Episode 13 airs on Tuesday at 10/9c on FX. Hold on tight, Fanatics.
