Theo Rossi joined me on The Buzz – BuzzWorthy Radio for a conversation that started with Sons of Anarchy, moved into his latest film Bruton, gave us a little tease about Legends and eventually turned into something much bigger as we discussed Come With Me, social media, conformity, original thought and even my own 20-year journey in podcasting.
Revisiting Juice and Jax
One of the first things I wanted to revisit with Theo was that final extended conversation between Juice and Jax on Sons of Anarchy.
I’ve watched that scene multiple times. What has always stayed with me is how much Theo conveyed without saying anything. Juice knew what was coming. He was carrying guilt, pain and the weight of everything that had happened between these two characters, and so much of that came through simply by watching Theo’s face.
When I finally got the opportunity to explain all of that to him, Theo told me the scene still comes up frequently with fans.
He pointed out something else I hadn’t really considered: scenes constructed that way are becoming increasingly rare. Juice and Jax essentially sit together for roughly 11 minutes, without constant quick cuts or distractions, and work through seven years of history.
Theo also recalled Charlie Hunnam saying years ago that it was one of the scenes, if not the scene, that he was most proud of.
For me, it remains one of the most powerful sequences Sons of Anarchy ever produced.
Bruton Is About the Man, Not the Prison
The main reason Theo and I were sitting down was Bruton, based on the true story of Bryan Bruton.
Before our conversation, I had not only watched the film but also watched some of Bryan’s own videos online, where he has discussed and revisited what happened to him.
Theo told me his involvement began while working on Come With Me. He was introduced to the work of writer-director Vincent Grashaw through Bang Bang, starring Tim Blake Nelson, and immediately wanted to see everything else Grashaw had made.
Then he read the script for Bruton.
After reading it and watching Bryan’s videos, Theo knew he wanted to help get the movie made. A few months later, they were shooting.
The production filmed in three different prisons, and Bryan himself was there as a resource for Theo. But one thing Theo stressed during our conversation really encapsulates what I felt while watching the film: They weren’t trying to make a prison movie.
This is the story of a man’s life. Prison happens to be a significant part of that life, but it isn’t the entirety of who Bryan Bruton is.
The Thing That Surprised Me About Bryan
I asked Theo what surprised him most about Bryan while researching and portraying him. His answer was Bryan’s positivity. After everything Bryan experienced, Theo couldn’t believe how positive he remained.
What surprised me was something slightly different: his accountability.
Bryan never stops acknowledging the decisions that put him where he was. At the same time, he never stops thinking about his daughter or wanting to find his way back to her.
There’s one sequence in particular that really stayed with me. Spoiler warning here if you haven’t seen Bruton.
Bryan is blindfolded and essentially escapes into his own mind. Suddenly, we’re somewhere else. He’s at the beach with his daughter, and he asks her for forgiveness.
For me, that was the pivotal scene of the film.
Theo explained that Bryan needs that forgiveness to move forward. The meditation itself becomes a form of survival—a way of mentally getting beyond the walls surrounding him.
It was his idea for Bryan to appear in the clothes he had been wearing when he was arrested because that was the version of him his daughter would have last seen.
The film was shot in only 20 days, which also meant the production had to find creative ways to convey the passage of time while dealing with Bryan’s changing hair, beard and overall appearance without having the luxury of shooting everything chronologically.
And Then There’s Tony Hale…
I also had to talk about Tony Hale.
Theo was just as enthusiastic talking about him. He told me how excited and thankful he was that Hale came aboard, particularly because the role allows audiences to see him doing something different.
We also need to shout out Tammy Blanchard. I’ve been watching Tammy since her days as Drew Jacobs on Guiding Light, so even before I could completely make out her face because of the lighting, I was sitting there thinking, “Is that Tammy Blanchard?” Theo expressed how great she was in the film.
Enter Legends
The developing project reunites Theo with Charlie Hunnam and other members of the Sons of Anarchy family, and there was one detail that immediately caught my attention when I first heard about it: They’re playing themselves.
Theo couldn’t reveal much, but he did tell me he has full faith in what Charlie is creating. He talked about the chemistry the group still shares, the fact that they genuinely love each other and still spend time together, and how much everyone wants to give to the project.
The only tease he was able to provide was that this show is going to surprise people. He described it as “really different” and suggested that whatever fans are imagining this project to be probably isn’t what Charlie has planned.
Come With Me Took Us Somewhere I Wasn’t Expecting
I hadn’t watched this yet when we recorded the interview, so I asked Theo to walk me through it. This is another upcoming film from Theo that also reunites him with Ron Perlman.
Theo plays an ordinary man who is engaged, has a best friend, works at a machine factory and is simply living his life. He’s also constantly listening to Dalton Kirby, a radio personality played primarily through Ron Perlman’s voice.
Kirby is the type of personality who continually tells his audience that the world is falling apart, somebody else is responsible for their problems and he’s the person who can tell them the “real truth.”
Meanwhile, things begin happening in Theo’s character’s life. Theo described the transformation as essentially “death by a thousand cuts.” The film explores how someone who appears completely ordinary can eventually do something that leaves everybody else asking, “How did this person get here?”
“Original Thought Takes Work”
Theo started talking about how many voices we have coming at us every single day. We talked about influencers and social media and how easy it has become to see someone with a large following say something and immediately accept it as truth.
Theo made a point that resonates: Original thought takes work. There was a time when going against the grain was celebrated. Now, sometimes it feels as though you’re questioned simply because you’re not doing whatever everyone else has decided they’re supposed to be doing.
The phrase is simple, and Theo said it best: “You’re being you.”
Watch the full interview with Theo Rossi by clicking on the player above or by downloading on Spotify and all major podcast platforms.
