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The cast of Dennis Leary's newest drama, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, shared their character inspirations for the series at San Diego Comic-Con!

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Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll Takes The Band On The Road To SDCC

The cast of Dennis Leary’s newest drama, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, shared their character inspirations for the series at San Diego Comic-Con!

Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll Courtesy of FX

Denis Leary’s newest drama, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, centers around a rock musician whose party lifestyle prevented him from reaching fame, and who is now learning to cope with the fact that his talented daughter (now the lead singer in his band) is more famous than he will ever be. Leary’s experiences as a teenager and adult crafted the premise of the show, as well as its motley crew of characters. The band hit the road and travelled to San Diego Comic-Con to interact with fans and share their excitement for the new series!

 

“I’ve known musicians my whole life. When I was a teenager, guys that I was close with became members of rock and roll bands in Boston. I was backstage a lot and got to witness a lot of the crazy,” Leary said. Johnny Rock is forever learning how to handle his daughter’s growing fame, his band, and…how to dress like a dad. Johnny is never going to be famous, but Leary explained that the idea of Johnny’s daughter, played by Elizabeth Gillies, being more famous than Johnny will always be funny.

Johnny’s longtime girlfriend and back-up singer, Ava, played by Elaine Hendrix, says that she and Johnny have “done everything and then some.” She tries to protect Johnny in his dysfunction, and as a rocker herself, Hendrix says she pulled inspiration from Blondie for Ava, along with “those rocker chicks who really brought style and flair to their music, which has been badass.”

The band also consists of Flash (no, not Barry…), who was described by John Corbett as being Johnny’s nemesis. Inspired by KISS, Corbett explained how he used to draw the fifth member of KISS frequently as a teenager, which of course, was himself.

Bam Bam, played by Robert Kelly, is the long-time friend of Johnny Rock who finds out that Johnny has a musically talented daughter, and he wants to make her famous. Kelly, who took some notes from Keith Moon and had to learn drums by practicing paradiddles in his hotel room, created his own rock persona by crafting what he calls the classic “drummer face.”

John Ales plays Rehab, whose history has revolved around just that. Because of previous drug use, Rehab is just happy to be a part of the band, and backs up Johnny and Gigi as the bass player (and no, he didn’t know how to play bass prior to the start of filming either). When asked about Denis Leary’s creative process behind casting the show, Ales said, “He knows who he’s got pictured for the long haul and he searched for exactly the right personalities for every one of us. In this case, I really believe he’s done well getting a great mix of people together.”

It was obvious that the cast’s chemistry is that of a true rock band/family. “We love each other like a band. We hate each other like a band. We live, we love, we laugh.”

Grab your lighter and get ready to rock out with Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll Thursdays at 10/9c on FX Network!

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