Kim Coates is one of those actors you tend to see in a lot of different places since he fits into so many roles it’s insane. Looking at him you’d almost think that there’s only so much he can do since quite honestly he does have a very distinctive look and he does have the kind of voice and personality that is suited to something very specific. Thankfully though that means that directors are continually trying to find him the right role and aren’t trying to bottle him into something he’s not comfortable with. He’s been the sleaze, the bad guy, the in-between guy, the good guy, and someone that you can rely on but might have watch out of the corner of your eye. As for one of his best roles though it can’t be said enough that “Tig” Trager on Sons of Anarchy was one of his best characters ever, hands down and without any equivocation. It was a shame to see the show go, but it was obvious that it eventually had to come to a head, particularly when so many of the gang’s members were getting killed off and the pressure was mounting for SAMCRO. Thankfully Tig never saw his end, though he certainly came close a couple of times.
Since the show wrapped up in 2014 though he’s kept pretty busy and even has a movie that came out in 2018 titled Cold Brook that, according to Jessica Fisher of GeekTyrant, seems as though it might be worth a watch. To say that Kim Coates is a popular actor is kind of difficult only because he seems to play second fiddle and a supporting character a lot of times, he doesn’t seem to take the lead all that often and if he does people don’t tend to notice. But when he’s playing a supporting character he tends to play someone that is easily seen and doesn’t really go out of his way to be the top actor in the movie. In other words he’s there to make other people look good while doing his job, and in the process it makes him look even better since he’s one of the more memorable actors in show business at this time, at least in the opinion of some.
He has taken the lead in the show Bad Blood in which he plays the part of Declan Gardiner, a man that takes over control of a mob family when the controlling patriarch gets sent to prison. This isn’t too far-fetched at all really since Kim does have a commanding presence, in a way, that is less traditional and more crazed than some since of his look and his manner of going about a role. I many roles that he’s played it’s kind of evident that he might be capable of going more than a little nuts, but he also keeps a very tight reign on his characters so as to keep them professional and well within the boundaries of the script But if you watch him closely there’s just something about him, some quality that indicates that he could do crazy very easily and rock such a role with the best of them. It might not seem like a great example but his part of the drifter in Waterworld was actually pretty entertaining since he had to play an absolute nutcase that had been out at sea too long without any human interaction, and he did it beautifully to the point that people might have actually been wanting to see him get his due just to keep the madness from spreading.
If you can believe it Kim is actually in his 60s at this point and is still doing his thing with the best of them without seeming to have slowed down in the slightest. Having been in show business now for decades it’s easy to think that the acts he’s perfected and made a part of his repertoire might be those that people are counting on when he gets cast for a role. Personally it’d be kind of hard to see the nutty nature of Tig come out anywhere other than in a Sons of Anarchy return or even on the Mayans, where it’s been seen that old members of SAMCRO have shown up as guest stars, which was nice. But his other roles and personas are fairly easy to see wherever he might unleash them. I can’t say as I’d call Kim an everyman kind of actor, but he’s certainly a reliable individual to call upon when a professional is needed for a role, especially when someone with a touch of the crazed look is needed. Something about him is hard to forget, and that’s a big reason why he’s rather popular and will likely stay that way for some time to come.
