8 Best ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Characters

Sons of Anarchy gave the world some of the most intense-yet-likable characters to ever grace a TV screen and to this day, fans miss seeing them weekly.

There is no denying the massive impact the show had on television, as it still maintains a devout following and has spawned a critically acclaimed spin-off in the new Mayans M.C. series.

One of the biggest reasons for why Sons of Anarchy has held onto its dedicated fanbase is due to the many great actors and actresses who cultivated incredibly complex characters that always seemed to keep watchers wanting to come back.

Below, we have put together a list of the best characters to appear on the show. Scroll down to check it out and let us know in the comments who your favorite is!

Jax Teller

Played by: Charlie Hunnam

While there are probably a small minority who would disagree, Jax Teller just IS the best Sons of Anarchy character.

Not only does the whole series revolve around him but he evolved so much — and so perfectly — over the course of the show that when it ended you could literally see in his face how worn down he was from all the secrets and crime.

Gemma Teller Morrow

Played by: Katey Sagal

Gemma Teller Morrow is maybe one of the best TV moms/grandmothers ever because she will do anything to protect her family, no matter the cost.

She proves this right up until the very end when she does something so heinous that it ends up being the literal death of her even though, arguably, her heart was in the right place.

Opie Winston

Played by: Ryan Hurst

If there is one pure, faultless character on Sons of Anarchy (not counting all of the various children), it’s Opie Winston.

Okay, so that may be a bit of a stretch, but many fans would agree that Opie was one of the most likable, most tragic characters on the series and his exit was so painful because of how noble and loyal he was.

Chibs Telford

Played by: Tommy Flanagan

Chibs was no doubt one of the toughest characters on the show, but he was — depending on who you ask — the most consistently loyal to Jax.

That loyalty, as well as his heart-of-gold-encased-in-leather persona, puts him squarely in the top five of the best characters on Sons of Anarchy.

Tig Trager

Played by: Kim Coates

There’s no denying that Tig was a great character, but he was also somewhat fascinating.

In some ways an amalgam of the personalities of Opie and Chibs, Tig is both deeply complex and simply faithful. Not to mention he and Venus Van Dam (the transgender prostitute played by Walton Goggins) share one of the most compelling storylines to ever play out on TV.

Juice Ortiz

Played by: Theo Rossi

An argument could be made that Juice is such a great character simply because Theo Rossi is so cool and suave, and that argument would be 100% valid.

While his direction certainly takes a turn down a dark road, Juice is without a doubt still one of the best Sons of Anarchy characters ever.

Bobby Munson

Played by: Mark Boone Junior

You can’t have a “best Sons of Anarchy characters” list and not include good ol’ Bobby Munson. There’s far too much about this guy that was just so great.

From his Elvis impersonator gig to his tragically gruesome death in the name of SAMCRO, Bobby was one of the real ones to the core and both Jax and the fans knew it.

Nero Padilla

Played by: Jimmy Smits

Nero may not have been the show for very long — only appearing in the final three seasons — but he made a huge impact in that short time.

While everything about the character on paper should have been enough to make him despicable, actor Jimmy Smits brought a smoothness to the role that actually ended up making Nero one of the most well-liked.

No word on if Nero may turn up on Mayans M.C., but he did make it out of Sons of Anarchy alive so fans should tune into the spin-off series on Tuesdays to see he makes an appearance!