Following the end of his highly successful TV series Sons of Anarchy , Kurt Sutter is currently working on the production of his newest series, The Bastard Executioner . Centering on the story of a medieval knight turned executioner, Sutter’s new show promises to be completely different than anything he’s done so far. With that in mind, Sutter recently talked with Rolling Stone , where he provided some insight into how he prepared for the show.
With filming for the first season well underway, Sutter actually commutes between Wales and California in order to “make sure my kid remembers what I look like.” While Sutter insists he is taking a more hands-off approach in this series, he added that he spends most of his time “sitting alone in a room and using my imagination. I drop by to approve designs and sign off on shit. But y’know, no one likes when Dad’s looking over their shoulders.”
Although some may be quick to compare Sutter’s newest series with HBO’s Game of Thrones , or a mix between Thrones and Sons of Anarchy , especially given the fact that both series have a similar look and feel to them, co-producer Paris Barclay recently stated that The Bastard Executioner has Sutter’s imprint all over it.
“We knew we didn’t want it to be precious,” said Barclay, who actually directed the pilot episode.
“We wanted a Kurt Sutter experience, which means grittier, more immersive. We wanted the costumes to drag in the dirt. We wanted the fighting to seem un-choreographed, as much as possible. We wanted it to be more real, and more on-the-ground than we’re used to seeing on television. And all of that ended up being much more difficult to execute, if you will, than it was to talk about.”
Meanwhile, The Bastard Executioner is set to feature a number of exciting guest appearances in its first season, including Ed Sheeran. In speaking with Entertainment Weekly , Sheeran recently opened up about his role in the series.
“I find that I have reputation of being a smiley approachable guy, so I wanted the opposite,” Sheeran said of his part. “I said to Kurt, make sure that I’m not typecast at all. Write me as a complete d—head in it. I feel like I need that.”
Sheeran went on to admit that he is very much outside of his comfort zone in the acting world. “I feel very out of place. I feel like I need a few more days to sink in to the idea of acting. I’m very good with a guitar in my hand, but I feel a bit lost without it.”
Aside from The Bastard Executioner , Kurt Sutter is also hard a work on a Sons of Anarchy spin-off, and there are rampant rumors about a Sons prequel as well.
The Bastard Executioner premieres September 15 on FX.
[Image Courtesy: Kurt Sutter via Instagram]