- "Call him that and see what happens."
- ―Quinn, to Ratboy, on T.O.'s real name
Taddarius Orwell "T.O." Cross is the former President of the Grim Bastards Motorcycle Club on the FX original series Sons of Anarchy. Played by American actor Michael Beach, T.O. makes his debut on the season three episode "Oiled". Playing a recurring role through the same and subsequent seasons, T.O. was last seen in the show's finale episode, "Papa's Goods".
Quick Answers
Who is the actor that played T.O. Cross in Sons of Anarchy?
What is the significance of T.O. Cross being the first black member of SAMCRO?
What was T.O. Cross's role in the Grim Bastards Motorcycle Club before joining SAMCRO?
In which seasons of Sons of Anarchy does T.O. Cross appear?
What is the last episode in which T.O. Cross is seen in Sons of Anarchy?
Biography[]
Background[]
Little is known about T.O.'s life and history except that he is good friends with Clay Morrow and his MC has had a relationship with SAMCRO for 20 years.
Season 3[]
"Oiled"[]
The Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original charter link up with the Grim Bastards Lodi charter, T.O. agrees to help the Sons look for a Calaveras Motorcycle Club shotcaller whom they can interrogate about a drive by shooting that happened in Charming at a SoA funeral wake.
His club is chosen to provide security for Mayan drug shipments after SAMCRO makes a deal with the Mayans MC. T.O. killed a Calaveras's Sergeant-at-Arms who murdered his friend Lander Jackson, the Vice-President of Grim Bastards.
Season 5[]
T.O. hides his cousin, Randall Hightower, after his release from prison, not knowing it was against SAMCRO, and for the death of Opie Winston. T.O. tries to talk Jax out of killing his cousin but does not prevail. Jax defends his actions by saying that T.O. Cross also lied on his word to hand Randall over. A stunned T.O. asks Jax "Who the hell are you?,” as Jax's behavior no longer mirrors that of his days as Vice President.
Season 7[]
The Grim Bastards and SAMCRO are tracking down the Impala owned by an unknown party who has been running their men off the road, putting them in critical condition and even killing some of their members. They find the Impala at an apartment but upon entering, they find two men and a woman involved in a threesome and another man filming it. After all four are killed, they learn that the man filming and one of the men involved in the threesome were church pastors and that the attacker is still out there. T.O. and his men later help nab a member of Lin's gang, who Jax mistakenly believed was responsible for murdering his wife Tara on Lin's orders. ("Black Widower")
The Grim Bastards help the Sons by donning masks and impersonating the One-Niners. They attack workers at a massage parlor owned by Lin, claiming that the attacks were orders straight from August Marks himself. ("Playing with Monsters")
T.O. later talks to Jax about the diminishing Grim Bastards club, saying he fears the loss of another member will cause the club to split up. Jax suggests the possibility of patching over the Grim Bastards, with T.O. seemingly thinking about accepting the offer. T.O. and the Grim Bastards also help the Sons take down Dulain and his crew, with T.O. being the one to kill Dulain. ("Smoke 'em if You Got 'em")
After the death of Bobby Munson, SAMCRO, the Grim Bastards, and the One-Niners plan an ambush on Moses Cartwright and his men. The plan almost fails when Ratboy is captured along with T.O. The two are brought to the same place Bobby was tortured and were beaten until T.O. "gave up" the location of SAMCRO's cabin. After Moses and most of his guys leave, Tyler frees T.O. and Ratboy. ("Faith and Despondency")
After Jax passes the vote to remove an unwritten law so that African-Americans are allowed to be Sons of Anarchy members, T.O. becomes the first African-American member to be patched over in an unanimous vote. ("Papa's Goods")
Murders Committed[]
- Edgar - Shot in the head. ("Widening Gyre")
- Dulain - Shot in the head. ("Smoke 'em if You Got 'em")
Trivia[]
- T.O. owns an orange and black Road Glide CVO with ape hangers in Season 7.
- He is the first Black member of the Sons of Anarchy M.C
- Juice was half-black but this was unknown when he was patched in
- Oddly enough, when T.O. is patched into SAMCRO, the kutte he is given is a hybrid of a prospect vest and full patch, with a "prospect" bottom rocker, no top rocker but the reaper club logo and the "Redwood Original" tags, despite him being voted in as a full patch. This was done because the club originally intended to vote him in as a prospect but changed their minds and offered him full membership instead, due to all that he and the Grim Bastards have done for SAMCRO. It's possible that he was later given a more appropriate kutte, although it's impossible to tell, since he is only seen once after getting the vest, and his back is turned away from the camera at that point.
- Additionally, the kutte already had the "Redwood Original" patches on it, as well as a "Men of Mayhem" tag. This was probably done due to the help he and the other Bastards provided for the club in season seven, although why the vest had these when he was originally intended to be a prospect is unknown.
- Because he was sent away to help the Mayans while Jax's fate was being decided, T.O. is the only full patch member seen on the show that never took part in a club vote, other than prospective members who weren't even able to attend meetings, and the club's one posthumous full patch, Half Sack Epps.
- "T.O" stands for Taddarius Orwell. It's revealed that he despises his name, that's why he goes by his initials. His hatred for the name is highlighted in the series finale when he gets angry at Rat after the latter called out his first name.
Appearances[]
Season 3 appearances | ||||
"SO" | "Oiled" | "Caregiver" | "Home" | "Turning and Turning" |
"The Push" | "Widening Gyre" | "Lochán Mór" | "Turas" | "Fírinne" |
"Bainne" | "June Wedding" | "NS" |
Season 5 appearances | ||||
"Sovereign" | "Authority Vested" | "Laying Pipe" | "Stolen Huffy" | "Orca Shrugged" |
"Small World" | "Toad's Wild Ride" | "Ablation" | "Andare Pescare" | "Crucifixed" |
"To Thine Own Self" | "Darthy" | "J'ai Obtenu Cette" |
Season 7 appearances | ||||
"Black Widower" | "Toil and Till" | "Playing with Monsters" | "Poor Little Lambs" | "Some Strange Eruption" |
"Smoke 'em if You Got 'em" | "Greensleeves" | "The Separation of Crows" | "What a Piece of Work is Man" | "Faith and Despondency" |
"Suits of Woe" | "Red Rose" | "Papa's Goods" |