Four-time Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee Hal Holbrook has signed up for a guest starring role on the upcoming third season of FX's critically acclaimed hit drama series Sons of Anarchy. Holbrook will appear in a four-episode arc, beginning with the third season premiere episode, which debuts in September.

Holbrook will play "Nate Madock," the father of Gemma Morrow Teller (Katey Sagal), with whom he reconnects through coincidental circumstances. As last season ended Gemma was on the run after being framed for murder.

A veteran of television and film, Holbrook's illustrious career spans more than five decades, with Emmy Award-winning performances in the drama series The Bold Ones: The Senator, and the miniseries Lincoln. In 2007 he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as "Ron Franz" in Into the Wild.

Production of season three begins on Friday and FX has ordered 13 episodes for the third season. The series was created by Kurt Sutter who serves as Executive Producer, and it is produced by Fox 21 and FX Productions.

The second season of Sons of Anarchy ranked as the highest-rated single season of an original series in FX history. For its 13-episode second season (9/8-12/1/09), Sons averaged 4.48 million total viewers and 3.16 million Adults 18-49, which represented respective gains of +72% and +81% versus season one averages. Sons of Anarchy is basic cable's top scripted series for 2009 in delivery of Men 18-49 (1.98 million). During its 13-week run, the second season of Sons of Anarchy was television's #1 series in the Tuesday 10:00 PM time period in average delivery of Adults 18-34, Men 18-34 and Men 18-49 (BROADCAST and CABLE).

Starring Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal and Ron Perlman, Sons of Anarchy is an adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club (MC) and its desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains exactly that: charming. The Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club must confront threats from drug dealers, corporate developers, hate groups and overzealous law officers. Behind the MC's familial lifestyle and legally thriving automotive shop is a ruthless and illegally thriving arms business.