Kurt Sutter

Kurt Sutter (born 1960) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He worked as a writer, director, and executive producer on The Shield, and appeared on the show as hitman Margos Dezerian. Sutter is also the creator of Sons of Anarchy and its spinoff Mayans M.C. on FX; he wrote, produced, and directed the series, as well as played incarcerated club member Otto Delaney. Sutter spent time with members of an outlaw motorcycle club in Northern California as research for Sons of Anarchy. Sutter's wife, actress Katey Sagal, played main character Gemma Teller.

Early life Sutter was born in Rahway, New Jersey. His father worked at the General Motors plant in Linden, New Jersey, and his mother was a secretary for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. He has two older sisters. He grew up in the township of Clark, New Jersey, This is a trend that continued in later seasons with the majority of the main cast of The Shield appearing in later episodes in a variety of different roles.

Sutter remained showrunner and executive producer for the series' second season in 2009. He wrote the season premiere "Albification", co-wrote the episode "Eureka" with Brett Conrad, co-wrote the episode "Gilead" with co-producer Chris Collins, co-wrote the episode "Potlatch" with Misha Green, co-wrote the teleplay for the episode "Service" with co-executive producer Jack LoGiudice from a story by Brady Dahl and Cory Udica, co-wrote the episode "The Culling" with consulting producer Dave Erickson, and wrote and directed the season finale "Na Trioblóidí". The second season featured The Shield star Kenny Johnson as a special guest star playing a club member named Kozik.

Sutter returned as showrunner and executive producer for the third season in 2010. He wrote the season premiere "SO"; co-wrote the episode "Oiled" with Erickson, now a co-executive producer; co-wrote the episode "Home" with Liz Sagal, series' star Katey Sagal's sister and his sister-in-law. He co-wrote the episode "Widening Gyre" with co-producer Regina Corrado and the episode "Lochan Mor" with Erickson and Liz Sagal. He wrote the story for the episode "Turas"; the teleplay was co-written by Collins (now a producer) and Dahl. Sutter co-wrote the episode "Firinne" with Vaunn Wilmott and the episode "Bainne" with Corrado and Erickson. He wrote the story for the episode "June Wedding"; Collins wrote the teleplay. Sutter reprised the role of Otto in the season finale, titled "NS", which he also directed and co-wrote with Erickson. Johnson returned as Kozik in the third season. Sutter would go on to produce seven seasons of Sons. The show concluded airing in December 2014.

In 2010, DreamWorks picked up Sutter's film script Southpaw, and Eminem was eyed for the lead role. The film was dropped by DreamWorks in 2011 and was later picked up by MGM and Columbia Pictures. Antoine Fuqua directed the film, and Jake Gyllenhaal replaced Eminem in the lead. Rachel McAdams, Rita Ora, 50 Cent, and Forest Whitaker also appeared in the film. Southpaw was released on July 24, 2015, by The Weinstein Company.

In 2014, it was announced Sutter had begun developing The Bastard Executioner, a new series for FX, The series was ordered to pilot on December 12, 2014. Katey Sagal, Lee Jones, and Stephen Moyer signed on to join the cast of the pilot. On May 22, 2015, the pilot was ordered to series with a 10-episode launch to premiere on September 15, 2015, on FX. The series was cancelled after one season. Sutter went on to create the Sons of Anarchy spinoff Mayans M.C. In October 2019, he was fired from FX after multiple complaints were lodged against him about his "abrasive" and "unprofessional" behavior. Sutter appeared in the 2021 science fiction film Chaos Walking, his first feature film acting role.

Comic books In 2016, Sutter produced a six-issue comic book miniseries with Boom! Studios titled Lucas Stand. The first issue was released on June 1, 2016. He also worked on a comic book called Sisters of Sorrow; the book was launched at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con.

Projects in development In May 2021, it was announced that Sutter would direct a horror film titled This Beast for Netflix. In November 2021, it was announced that he would create a western series titled The Abandons for Netflix.

Influences Sutter has stated he's had multiple influences in his writing style, including William Shakespeare, specifically his play Hamlet. He based the characters of Sons of Anarchy on Hamlet. Other cultural influences include Mad Magazine, Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and the television show Hill Street Blues, among others.

Personal life Sutter moved to Los Angeles in 2000. Their first child, daughter Esme Louise, was born January 10, 2007. Esme was carried by a surrogate mother.

Sutter is an animal rights activist and is vegan. He is also a motorcycle enthusiast.

Filmography

Film Year Film Actor Director Writer Role(s) Notes 2015 Southpaw N/A 2021 Chaos Walking Cillian Boyd TBA This Beast

Television Actor Year Film Role Notes 2002–2004 The Shield Margos Dezerian 4 episodes 2008–2013 Sons of Anarchy "Big" Otto Delaney 20 episodes 2015 The Bastard Executioner The Dark Mute 9 episodes

Producer Year Show Role 2002–2008 The Shield Credited as: Executive producer (Seasons 6–7) Co-executive producer (Season 5) Supervising producer (Season 4) Co-producer (Season 3) Story editor (Season 2) Staff writer (Season 1) 2008–2014 Sons of Anarchy Executive producer 2015 The Bastard Executioner Executive producer 2018–2023 Mayans M.C. Executive producer 2025 The Abandons Executive Producer

Writer

Director