The Shocking Reason Taylor Sheridan Left ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ Explained

Ever since Taylor Sheridan’s 2015 hit Sicario debuted, he quickly became a critically revered multi-hyphenate in Hollywood. Award-winning films like Hell or High Water and his Yellowstone television empire soon followed, establishing the Texas native in the industry as a character-focused storyteller, notably ridding himself of writer’s room constraints and breaking traditional, plot-driven rules. As his work garners continued praise, fans have turned their attention to his rise to fame. Before discovering his behind-the-scenes talent, Sheridan began his film career as an actor.

Despite becoming a Western staple of modern film and TV, his first claim to fame was FX’s outlaw, biker-gang drama Sons of Anarchy. Created and directed by Kurt Sutter, the show follows lead Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) as he navigates the titular club (often referred to by the acronym SAMCRO) after his father’s death. Although SAMCRO protects its Californian hometown from various threats, it also runs an illegal arms business. While questioning the club’s criminality, Jax faces pressure from local law enforcement. That’s where Sheridan’s recurring role as Deputy Chief David Hale comes into play. Hale acts as an antagonistic foil to the gang’s lawlessness, as well as Chief Wayne Unser (Dayton Callie).

Sheridan made 21 episode appearances during the series’ seven-season run before being killed off in Season 3. Sutter has stated in the past that Hale’s death was planned in case a contract agreement couldn’t be made between executives and Sheridan. So, what exactly happened during their negotiations that led to Sheridan’s abrupt exit from the show?

Release Date

September 8, 2008

Seasons

7

Sheridan Thought ‘Sons of Anarchy’ was His Big Break

Like many up-and-coming thespians, Sheridan’s early career involved a lot of struggle. The working actor was introduced on-screen back in 1995 in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. He was then cast in a string of minor small-screen appearances in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Star Trek: Enterprise, and as Danny Boyd in Season 2 of Veronica Mars. Finally, in 2008, he landed his first recurring role as Deputy Chief David Hale in Sons of Anarchy.

After years of scraping by with small parts, Sheridan believed that Hale was going to be his professional breakthrough, acting as a crucial milestone to his ambitious dreams in show business. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he confessed that he saw himself eventually becoming a silver-screen success story, “The plan was always to become a big movie star, then move back to a ranch and just do movies with Martin Scorsese when I felt like it.”

Although Sheridan’s justice-seeking officer was a fan-favorite, the actor’s career still proved stagnant, and he wasn’t even making enough money to get by on the role alone. Sheridan wanted to keep his acting dreams alive, but after his eventual departure from Sons of Anarchy, he concluded that moving beyond them was the best decision for his film career going forward.

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Why Did Sheridan Leave ‘Sons of Anarchy’?

When Sheridan suddenly exited from Sons of Anarchy in 2010, show creator Kurt Sutter didn’t go into too much detail about the actor’s reasons for quitting. He simply disclosed that they didn’t come to a contractual agreement, resulting in the actor leaving to pursue other projects. However, Sheridan opened up about what really happened in a 2021 interview with Deadline, “At that time they were offering me what I thought was a very unfair wage.” Even though he was a series regular, Sheridan was paid noticeably less than all of his co-stars. Since he was struggling financially and needed a second job just to pay his bills, he and his attorney tried to negotiate a raise.

During a conversation between his lawyer and an unnamed business affairs attorney for the show, Sheridan was told that he “probably deserves to make more,” but a raise wasn’t going to happen. According to the Yellowstone creator, they were paying him exactly what they thought he was worth, “And that’s really when I quit. It wasn’t so much over money. It was so much more that that’s how the business saw me.” Thus, Sheridan’s unexpected Sons of Anarchy departure wasn’t because he wanted to go after other roles.

In the end, he wasn’t fairly compensated for his work, was met with an uncompromising legal team, and didn’t feel valued as a part of the show. Instead of remaining “11 on a call sheet” and continuing to deal with difficult executives, Sheridan decided to make a career pivot right then and there — from acting to writing — to create on his own terms.

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Sheridan Built His Own Television Empire

Although it was a hard lesson to learn, Sheridan respects Hollywood rejecting his on-camera work. He admitted to The Hollywood Reporter, “I was a fair actor, but that’s all I’ll ever be.” Instead of doubling-down on his on-screen dreams, he listened to the harsh feedback he got while on Sons of Anarchy. And it was the best decision he could have ever made.

Motivated by an $800 bank balance, the then 40-year-old Sheridan got to work, and it didn’t take long before his writing career paid off. He remembers the early days vividly, “The first thing I ever wrote [the pilot episode for Mayor of Kingstown in 2011] got me meetings at every major network, at every agency. I had multiple people trying to buy it.” His professional turn immediately proved to be one leading him in the right direction. Sheridan also created his first screenplay for Sicario, written on spec. Immediately after, he began writing what he believed would be an easier sale: the eventual Oscar-nominee Hell or High Water. Soon, both scripts sold, and he was catapulted into critical and box office acclaim.

Now a well-known, successful player in the industry that once spit him out as an actor, Sheridan has since spearheaded several films, as well as the hit Western series Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner. The latter has become a massive TV franchise with two spin-offs already released: 1883 and 1923. Needless to say, despite the issues he had before quitting Sons of Anarchy, Sheridan has since found his true calling as a writer, director, and producer (and we’re so glad he did).

Stream Yellowstone on Peacock and Sons of Anarchy on Hulu.

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