At the heart of Sons of Anarchy is Jax Teller, the young vice president of the titular outlaw motorcycle gang, who wants to honor his late father’s wishes for the club to go legitimate. What follows is a bloody tale of betrayal and revenge, as Jax fights to maintain control of SAMCRO and learns its dark secrets. Sons of Anarchy is a gripping drama with a memorable turn from Sheridan.

Taylor Sheridan Plays Deputy Chief David Hale In Sons Of Anarchy

Though many of Sons of Anarchy‘s best characters are criminals, there are some major players on the right side of the law, including Taylor Sheridan’s Deputy Chief David Hale. Unlike his boss, Chief Wayne Unser, Hale is no ally to SAMCRO. He believes in law and order, and feels that the biker club causes a serious moral concern to the town of Charming, California.

However, Hale is one of the rare characters in Sons of Anarchy — or any crime drama — who is an antagonist but not a villain. He’s not seeking bloody revenge against the Sons, nor does he want to punish them excessively or outside the law. He even breaks things off with June Stahl when it’s revealed that she’s behind the bloodshed that led to Opie’s wife Donna’s death.

Playing one of Sons of Anarchy‘s only characters with a strong moral compass is not an easy task, and the result is Sheridan delivering perhaps the most nuanced performance in the entire show. It’s certainly more complex and compelling than his controversial Yellowstone character, Travis Wheatley, who seemingly only pops up to show off his horse-riding skills and act like a jerk.

Why Everyone Forgets About Taylor Sheridan’s Masterful Sons Of Anarchy Performance

With Taylor Sheridan being one of the biggest names in television right now, you’d think that everyone would be going back to watch him in such a popular crime drama as Sons of Anarchy. But the fact is, most people forgot he was in the show.

This is because, despite being such a great character, Sheridan’s David Hale dies in the season 3 premiere, “SO.” It’s one of Sons of Anarchy‘s most brutal major deaths, too, as he’s run over by a van after a drive-by at Half-Sack’s funeral, and dragged through the street.

Hale certainly deserves to be remembered more than he is, but the show went on for four more seasons after he died. So many more violent twists happened between Hale’s demise and Sons of Anarchy‘s season 7 finale.

Other great recurring characters were also introduced after Sheridan left the show, including Walton Goggins’ exquisite turn as Venus van Dam, the love interest of Tig, who is more in recent memory than Hale.

Why Taylor Sheridan Left Sons Of Anarchy

Back when Sheridan was on Sons of Anarchy, from 2008-2010, he certainly wasn’t the television A-lister he is now, and the biker drama was by far his biggest acting gig. So, it may seem like a surprise that he chose to walk away, but that’s exactly what he did.

Ultimately, Sheridan left Sons of Anarchy because he was being paid what he felt was an “unfair wage,” which he told Deadline was not enough for him to quit his second job, and that his salary was “less than virtually every other person on the show.”

Negotiations broke down between Sheridan’s attorney and the show’s business attorney, who said that Sheridan isn’t “worth more” because, as Sheridan said, “‘He is 11 on the call sheet. That’s what that guy is, and that’s all he’s ever going to be.‘” This understandably didn’t sit right with Sheridan, and it was thus decided he would be killed off the show.

But his pay dispute with Sons of Anarchy turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it’s what inspired Sheridan to pivot from acting to screenwriting. His first screenplay, Sicario, became a smash-hit movie starring Emily Blunt in 2015, and one year later, Sheridan wrote the script for Hell or High Water, which earned him an Oscar nomination.