Sons of Anarchy star Ron Perlman says he worried he’d lose his house after experiencing highs and lows in his career

Perlman said that before he turned 50, he would often land one great role, then go through a multi-year drought

NEED TO KNOW

• Ron Perlman opened up about how he struggled in his career for years and, at times, worried he would lose his house
• The actor said that until he was 50 years old, he never felt sure in his career
• Perlman has since starred in Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy

Ron Perlman went through some tough moments in his career.

The actor, 76, opened up about his career struggles in an interview with actor and host Adam Lupis, shared to Instagram on July 19. 

“I’ve had a career that is weirder than any I’ve ever witnessed from anyone else,” he said in the clip. “I would do a mind-blowing gig, and then, for three years, nothing.” 

Perlman’s struggles got serious fast. “And during those three years, you’re looking at losing your house, you’re looking at having to take your kids out of school. You’re looking at losing everything, maybe your marriage is gonna fall apart.”

He said he was in the “depths of despair” about this. “Until I was 50 years old, that was the pattern of my life. I would do something mind-blowingly cool, and then three years, nothing.” 

But, Perlman said, he’s “revisited that despair enough times” that he knows he learned something from it. “If I have any character at all, it came from figuring out how to get through those three years,” he said.

Perlman began his on-screen career on the soap opera Ryan’s Hope, appearing in two episodes, but he struggled to find a foothold outside of the theater. By the mid-80s, he was appearing on TV more regularly. In 1987, he starred on Beauty and the Beast as Vincent, the beast, alongside Linda Hamilton. The show ended in 1990, and then he struggled to find consistent work. One of the things that helped keep him afloat was his work as a voice actor, which included Batman: The Animated Series, Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Fantastic Four and episodes of the TV adaptations of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.

Perlman turned 50 in 2000, and that was about when his career picked up. From 1998 to 2000, he starred on CBS in The Magnificent Seven. In 2002 he starred in Blade II, and two years later he played the title role in Hellboy, the first of his many collaborations with director Guillermo del Toro. 

In 2008, he was cast on Sons of Anarchy as Clay Morrow, one of the “First 9” members of the titular motorcycle club. Clay started the series as a central character until he was eventually kicked out of the club for his villainous actions. The character was ultimately killed off in 2013, during the show’s sixth season; the show ended one year later, in 2014.

Perlman’s more recent roles have included Drive, Don’t Look Up, Poker Face, the miniseries Cape Fear, and the upcoming film The Saviors. He’s also continued his voice acting work, with roles in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Adventure Time. 

Perlman has also been long associated with the video game series Fallout, serving as narrator in the first game, released in 1997. He’s continued to work in the video games, narrating 1998’s Fallout 2, 2001’s Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, 2008’s Fallout 3, 2010’s Fallout: New Vegas, 2015’s Fallout 4 and 2018’s Fallout 76.

Earlier this year, he appeared in the TV series adaptation of the video games, which airs on Prime Video. He told GQ earlier this year that he never expected Fallout, about a society that tries to survive after nuclear annihilation, would become such a sensation.

“A gig is a gig, right?” he said. “You get a call from your agent. Back in the ‘90s, I was doing a lot of Saturday morning cartoons and a lot of video games. I don’t know how to play a video game — that’s not my thing — but I’ve got the voice part. For Fallout, they give me forty dollars and a sandwich to say this catchphrase: ‘War. War never changes.’ ”

As for his appearances in the game’s sequels, he said, “You know, artists generally don’t like repeating themselves if they don’t have to. But they will, to keep the lights on.” When Amazon greenlit the show, he kept waiting for them to call him to appear in the show. 

“Little did I know they were trying to come up with a character that had enough gravitas to make it worth my while,” he said. 

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