‘Sons of Anarchy’ Almost Cast Dr. Dre in Major Role

Creator Kurt Sutter revealed that he wanted the record producer and rapper to play cop Eli Roosevelt.

May 21, 2024, 4:12pm

Dr. Dre at the star ceremony where Dr. Dre is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)

Sons of Anarchy could have looked a lot different if Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter had gotten his way. The FX series ran for seven seasons and saw some pretty great guest stars that included Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Marilyn Manson, Harold Perrineau, Danny Trejo, Titus Welliver, and even Sutter himself, among others. However, the show almost got Dr. Dre in the major role of Eli Roosevelt, a lieutenant with the San Joaquin County Sheriff Department.

While the role ultimately went to Rockmond Dunbar, who was on the series from Season 4 to Season 6 until he was shot in the back by Juice Ortiz, Sutter wanted Dr. Dre to portray the cop. Via Men’s Journal, Sutter told his wife and SOA star Katey Sagal on their podcast Pie, “We actually wanted Dre. I don’t know if we officially made an offer, but we wanted him. We thought it would be cool to have Dre play a cop, for Roosevelt.”

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Why that never actually happened is unknown, as well as whether he would have been on board with it. Charlie Hunnam would have been on board with it, though. TMZ caught up with the actor, who played Jax Teller on all seven seasons of Sons of Anarchy and brought up Dr. Dre. Hunnam said that while he “did not know that,” having the rapper on the show would have “been epic, of course.”

“He’s the man,” he added. “That’s our loss, isn’t it?”

While Dre is, of course, best known for his music, he did appear in a number of films in the late ’90s and early ’00s.

Since Dr. Dre hasn’t taken any acting roles since 2001’s The Wash, it’s possible he would have turned it down, but there’s no telling what would have happened. It’s a disappointment to know that he was never asked, but at least Kurt Sutter was thinking about it. Now fans are just going to have to wonder what could have been.

Regardless of who played Eli Roosevelt and any other character, Sons of Anarchy, and it’s hard to picture anyone else playing the characters. With Sutter’s new Netflix show coming out soon, perhaps he can ask Dr. Dre to come and play this time around. It would surely be entertaining to see him acting again, but hopefully, Sutter gets around to actually asking this time and not just letting it go.