Chucky actor explains why he wasn’t in season 3
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Mayans MC Season 3, Episode 10, “Chapter The Last, Nothing More to Writeâ€, which airs Tuesday on FX.
As the Mayans MC season 3 finale brought back a big Sons of Anarchy character, Chucky Marstein – the fan-favorite accountant who first appeared in the first season of the biker show – was nowhere to be found. Now actor and artist Michael Ornstein, who plays Chucky, has told CBR why he hasn’t returned for season 3.
According to the show, Chucky “fell in love and moved to Ohio,” which actually mirrors Ornstein’s move to real life, specifically Cleveland. And while there have been plans for Chucky’s return, they have failed in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “The time I was supposed to go filming was right around the Thanksgiving rush,†Ornstein explained, “when it was just impossible for me to make that trip across the country.â€
Around the Thanksgiving holiday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged people to avoid travel in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These precautions and the potential risks associated with travel during this time were a big part of why Ornstein didn’t reprise his role. “I was just worried that I would be in Santa Clarita and, like, never come back,†he explained, “or that my wife would get sick here. I have kids and everything, so it just didn’t work out. And we tried to make it work, but it was just a matter of logistics, timing and risk. It was too much traveling across the country to go do that. And I was in contact with [Mayans M.C. co-creator Elgin James] and we were trying to work on it and stuff. “
The decision not to come back for Mayas MC Season 3 hasn’t been easy for Ornstein. “Not only was it a tough decision to make, emotionally, not to be with my friends to film the show, it was also a tough decision financially. Thousands of actors have been unable to work during COVID and many, like me, have lost our insurance. Without my wife’s work, I don’t know how we could have survived the pandemic. Ornstein also expressed his support for the cast and the team behind Mayans MC, saying, “I watch every show. I hold on to every word. I’m just amazed at what they’ve done this season. “
When it comes to Chucky’s big move to Ohio, Ornstein really enjoyed what the show chose to do with his character. “Chucky is a journey in the sense that it’s so flexible that no matter which direction you send it in,†Ornstein explained, “you hit something functional and usable. So that’s pretty cool the way. they did. I felt like they finished it right after that, like, a perfect note. That tone that stays there forever, like a poem. You know, an open poem, like Chucky . […] [H]We are in love. He moved to Ohio and he’s in love. I just found it to be so beautiful. And that makes people wonder about this guy. Made people consider who he is and the fact that he is a hiker. It could end anywhere and anytime. “
Ornstein continued, “It’s just such a cool thing. […] And I wondered, who did he fall in love with? How did he get to Ohio? Like, Chucky is from Jersey. We know that. We know some facts about Chucky. That he’s from Jersey. That he was a brilliant and successful accountant. And he’s a criminal. I just imagine him marrying a woman of Italian royalty, the Midwest, gangster, and he does the bookkeeping for the criminally involved and the very rich, clandestinely. Without a license, because he’s a criminal. And that’s what he does. And they run a kind of deli somewhere as a facade. Or a lunchbox or something. And that’s what they do! And they’re so irrelevant in Ohio. It makes me crack. “
As to whether Ornstein thinks Chucky could return for a future season of Mayas MC or another show in the Sons of anarchy universe, Ornstein explained that anything is possible. “Chucky is a character who could really show up anywhere and anytime. He goes to Ohio, he goes anywhere else. Like, how did he get to northern Cali? […] I always thought he had a family somewhere, and he just escaped. […] So I imagine if they wanted to use it, he might be around. But I love the note they left it on. I just felt like it was perfect and open. “
That being said, Ornstein isn’t entirely sure how Chucky would fit into the events of Mayas MC Season 3. “The way Elgin personally explored all of the characters and went so deep into everyone,†Ornstein said. “You know, that Momo Rodriguez thing. So touching and cool. And every character has their story, and I don’t know where Chucky might fit into that. I feel like nature has taken its course, and it ended up [being] creatively, artistically perfect. Chucky wasn’t there in this particular story, but I just found her so beautiful. This season was so cool. So different, you know? “
As for what he’s doing right now, Ornstein is also a visual artist, whose work you can see on Twitter and Instagram. He’s spent the pandemic working on a book, which he’s publishing one chapter at a time on Medium. “It’s based on a story that I had written a screenplay on,†Ornstein said of the project. “It’s about the road. It’s a road myth. And it’s related to Billy the Kid. And it’s about the trucks and the road. I used the pandemic to write it down. in a book I just finished. I used my paintings to tell the story, much like a graphic novel. “You can read the first chapter by following this link.
Created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, Mayans MC stars JD Pardo as EZ Reyes, Clayton Cardenas as Angel Reyes, Sarah Bolger as Emily Galindo, Michael Irby as Obispo “Bishop” Losa, Carla Baratta as Luisa “Adelita” Espina, Richard Cabral as Johnny “Coco” Cruz, Raoul Trujillo as Che “Taza” Romero, Danny Pino as Miguel Galindo, Edward James Olmos as Felipe Reyes and Emilio Rivera as Marcus Ãlvarez. Season 3 is now available on Hulu. Season 4 will be released in 2022.
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