It's been five years since FX's beloved biker drama Sons of Anarchy ended, and it should
come as no surprise that time has been kind to the man who ended his run at the top of
the heap.
Here's what Tommy Flanagan has been doing since playing Filip "Chibs" Telford.
Viewers were likely already familiar with Tommy Flanagan's work before he slid into
his badass leather SAMCRO jacket for Sons of Anarchy mainly because he'd had quite a
successful run in big-name projects like Braveheart, Gladiator, and Sin City.
And Flanagan wasted little time booking acting gigs in the wake of SoA's conclusion.
The first of those gigs came via ABC's simmering melodrama Revenge.
Though Flanagan only appeared on three episodes of Revenge, he made his presence felt as the
nefarious mobster-slash-arms dealer Malcolm Black.
Black was a key figure on the series, and he was also one of the few bad boys on Revenge
whose motivations were at least a little bit sympathetic.
“This is for killing my daughter.”
Either way, fans of the series vividly remember Flanagan's dexterous portrayal of Black as
much as they do his grisly demise.
Tommy Flanagan has played his share of weirdos.
That being said, the actor got a little weirder than usual for one of his post-Sons of Anarchy
performances: a music video for nu metal demigods Korn.
The video was for the band's track "Rotting in Vain," and found a dead-eyed, mascara-wearing
Flanagan portraying a dapper sort of bloke with a penchant for, shall we say, the darker
side of life.
Though the video itself is a bit tamer than that setup would have you believe, it sees
Flanagan’s character kicking around an unfinished house while huffing some mysterious gas, drinking
booze, and playing with ravens, snakes, and a bevy of steam-punky devices.
It also finds Korn playing music that sounds decidedly like Korn which is totally cool,
if that's your thing.
As for Flanagan, he's as good as you'd expect him to be, and he’s definitely the most
intriguing thing about the "Rotting in Vain" video.
Like so many actors today, Tommy Flanagan has made an appearance in the ever-expanding
Marvel Cinematic Universe and most people would agree that Flanagan's supporting turn
as Tullk in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ranks among the more memorable of his after-Sons
of Anarchy gigs.
If you've already ventured into the goofy, surprisingly yet heartfelt deep-space drama
of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, you'll remember Flanagan's appearance in the film
as a member of the Yondu Ravager Clan.
Tullk was also one of the most loyal members of Yondu's crew which is important to note
because one of the subplots of the film involved an all-out mutiny among the Ravagers, and
those Ravagers who remained loyal to their captain didn't fare particularly well.
“This is mutiny!
This is mutiny!”
As it is, Flanagan's final moments in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 also remain some of the
most unexpectedly touching ones in the entire film.
While Charlie Hunnam's struggles with letting go of Sons of Anarchy have been well-documented
since the show went off-air, it's safe to say that a definite bond of brotherhood ran
through the series' cast and crew.
As such, some of the SAMCRO brothers have continued to appear on screen together since
Sons ended.
That said, Tommy Flanagan's appearance opposite his old biker boy buddy Charlie Hunnam in
2017's remake of Papillon was hardly a shocker.
The film, based on real events, finds Hunnam's Henri "Papillon" Charrière attempting a series
of daring prison breaks with fellow inmate Louis Dega, played by Rami Malek.
During one of the escapes, "Papillon" is aided in his endeavor by a savvy gent with a shotgun
and face full of tattoos.
He's known simply as Masked Breton, and he's played by Hunnam's former second-in-command
Flanagan.
After Sons of Anarchy, Tommy Flanagan joined the ranks of actors who've appeared in Netflix
projects.
Unfortunately, Flanagan's Netflix run lasted a mere 10 episodes with the short-lived Wu
Assassins.
That early cancellation was likely more algorithm-driven than anything, since the show seemed on track
to become one of the more intriguing action programs available on the platform.
Still, it seems not many people actually watched those 10 episodes of Wu Assassins, which means
most missed out one of the great Tommy Flanagan performances.
“It’s too late.”
The series is set in San Francisco, and finds warrior Kai Jin who's tabbed to become the
last of the titular assassins and restore balance to the streets of Chinatown.
Flanagan's crime boss Alec McCullough is largely responsible for the imbalance on those streets,
which pits him in direct opposition to the would-be Wu hero.
Flanagan clearly had a blast breaking bad for Wu Assassins, and ultimately delivered
what might've become his signature villainous turn had more people seen it.
They say "you can't go home again," but Tommy Flanagan came home to his role of Chibs on
the Sons of Anarchy spin-off Mayans M.C., and he absolutely owned the screen when he
did.
While many Sons of Anarchy fans fully expected a crossover episode when series' creator Kurt
Sutter announced the spin-off, that crossover didn't actually happen until late into the
show's second season.
Titled "Kukulan," the episode in question finds the Mayans crew honoring one of Jax
Teller's final requests by sitting down with the SAMCRO brothers and hammering out details
about a lucrative deal.
As you can probably imagine, things don't go quite go according to plan.
Even so, it was beyond brilliant to see Flanagan channel his inner Chibs for the episode, and
we're sincerely hoping Mayans M.C. can find another reason to bring the great Tommy Flanagan
back for a future episode.
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