Ally Walker on SONS OF ANARCHY’s “Sociopathic” June Stahl

Ally Walker started her acting career on the soap opera Santa Barbara and is probably best known for her role as Dr. Sam Waters in the late 1990s crime drama Profiler. She also starred in the short-lived HBO relationship drama Tell Me You Love Me and has recently guest starred in shows ranging from CSI to Southland. She is currently appearing on the FX drama SONS OF ANARCHY as ruthless ATF agent June Stahl, who will stop at nothing as she tries to bring SAMCRO down.

Hot Celebrity Tv was there when Ally took the time to answer questions about playing June Stahl, what it’s like working for Kurt Sutter, and her new Lifetime pilot.

Make sure to watch Ally on Sons of Anarchy on FX Tuesday nights at 10pm/9 central. You can find all of our Sons of Anarchy coverage here and I hope you enjoy the interview with the fun and talented Ally Walker.

On taking the role of June

Ally said that Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter initially asked her to come in for three episodes, and she took the role because she loved his writing, the show, and the character. She said it was hard at first to play June because so much was thrown at her so fast and “I tend to play things close to the bone, but she’s not like any bones I have.” She added that she had a few moments of “I can’t do this” because it was hard to find June who is “just so out there” and Ally had just come off the more down-to-earth role of Katie in Tell Me You Love Me. She was used to playing “humbler characters, ones who have more logical thought processes,” but she ended up just going for it and said that the role has been both scary and a lot of fun.

According to Ally, Kurt “was really lovely to me to keep writing for [June],” making her “more and more outlandish, which is really fun to play.” She also said of the role, “I really love this turn because there is really nothing off the table. I applaud her ruthlessness.”

On working for creator Kurt Sutter

Ally said that she thinks that working with Kurt as a creator is probably different for different people, but for her, it’s always been wonderful. She called him a “tough dude and an intense guy,” but also said that he`s a “very, very smart guy and a passionate guy,” and that to her, he’s always been a “mensch and a sweetie.”

Ally said that above all, Kurt’s a writer and she likes writers. There isn’t much ad libbing or script-changing with Kurt. He wants everyone to adhere to what he has written and Ally respects that. She explained, “His mind is such that he knows exactly where he’s going and you don’t have to worry because he’s got you. You can swing from the monkey bars and slip, but then you can grab back onto the monkey bars and it’s okay.”

On June’s motivation

About June, Ally said, “She’s sort of a sociopath; at least that’s how I like to play her.” Ally thinks she’s an opportunist and “a great little actress.” While she believes that June was at least initially working for the right outcome, now her ego has gotten in the way. Ally said that June’s attitude is “I’m going to beat you at your own game” and “in her mind, I think she’s always right.” Ally also described June as someone who “flies over all the logical steps to get somewhere.”

In terms of getting close to other characters, Ally said that for June, “there are only those who can do for June and those who can’t.” She doesn’t get attached. Ally said June “didn’t feel for Hale. She thought he was an idiot.” As far as Opie goes, Ally thinks June lost respect for him when he let her go.

When asked if she thought June was jealous of the SAMCRO brotherhood, Ally said that she does because no one has ever had June’s back. She has a “disturbed background” with a bad childhood and so her character is man-made. June has had to become a chameleon.

Ally is obviously having a great time playing June, and she said that she’s “trying to keep it real” even as June gets nuttier. She loves June’s fearlessness.

On what scares June

When asked whether June was afraid of retribution from any of the SAMCRO members (Opie, for example) she had wronged, Ally answered no, saying “She’s more afraid she missed a step” because June always has to be right. She added, “June fears smarter people and what she can’t see. Of course, her ego has gotten so big she’s not seeing much anymore.”

On June’s sexuality

It wasn’t a surprise to Ally last season that June would have a female lover because she actually shot a scene with a different female lover in season one that didn’t make it to air (it’s on the S1 DVD as a deleted scene). She was initially concerned onky because she didn’t want June’s sexuality to be linked to her evilness, but said that while June probably is gay, “she’s kind of beyond sexuality, anyway” because she is such an opportunist.

On June’s future

While Ally said she is “way ahead” of the viewers in terms of knowing what’s coming up, she wouldn’t spill any secrets and when asked about June appearing in season
4, Ally only said, “I’m leaving that up to the end of the season and to Kurt.”

On whom Ally most likes playing opposite

Ally said she couldn’t really choose because they’re all great and such a good group overall, but she works the most with Charlie Hunnam Jax), Katey Sagal (Gemma), and Ron Perlman (Clay) and she called Charlie a “soulful actor,” Katey “her buddy,” and Ron “a lot of fun.”

Ally said that acting with such talented people changes scenes from how they appear on the page. She described an upcoming scene between June and Jax as “very seductive and creepy,” which surprised them both. She said it’s “an intimate little dance of threatening with sexual tension” that was so unexpected that “at the end of the scene, we had a feeling of `Whoa. What was that?’” She added that the scene played beautifully, though, and Kurt was very happy with it.

Ally described the actors as sweet and funny during downtime. She said that usually on dark shows (she has experience with this from Profiler) the cast and crew like to let loose when the cameras aren’t rolling and that’s definitely true on the Sons of Anarchy set.

On fan reaction

Ally said that “people really hate me,” a reaction she is not used to and she said it’s strange how many people come up to her and say “I really love to hate you.” She also mentioned that there are a fair number of people who can’t seem to differentiate between Ally the actress and June the character.

On the Lifetime pilot, Exit 19

Ally confirmed that she has signed on to headline the Lifetime pilot, Exit 19, as single mother Gloria Shepherd, who struggles to balance her work as an NYPD homicide detective with raising her two children and. She called the casting “fortuitous.” Because Ally’s a mom herself, she had avoided looking for a series regular role for a long time, but she had just changed agencies, signing with Innovative Artists, and they sent her the script for Exit 19 and she loved it. Her kids are older now and when Innovative got her an offer, she decided to go for it.

Ally called the Exit 19 script “very sweet. It can be dark, but it’s quirky and I like it.” She said what she likes most is that “it’s not one thing–it’s many things.” She added that for her, it always comes back to the writing and she really likes this script.

When asked if she would bring much of Stahl to her new role, Ally replied that she wouldn`t unless the writer wanted her to. She said that Stahl would be a difficult role to turn off, but that she would always do what the writer dictated.

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