Charlie Hunnam

Birthday: 10 April 1980, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, UK

Birth Name: Charles Matthew Hunnam

Height: 185 cm

Charles Matthew Hunnam was born in Newcastle, England on April 10, 1980, to Jane (Bell), a business owner, and William Hunnam, a scrap metal merchant. At 18 years of age, he made a guest appearances in the popular TV series Byker Grove (1989).He gained fame in Britain thanks to his television role as the love-smitten Nathan Maloney in Queer as Folk (1999). Independent movies, television series and auditions for such blockbusters as Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) followed, but it wasn't until 2002 that Charlie started to attract international attention, when he supported Katie Holmes in the suspense thriller Abandon (2002).His first lead role in a film was in Nicholas Nickleby (2002). After which, he played a pivotal character in the strongly cast, adapted drama Cold Mountain (2003). This was Charlie's first part that he has named in his "trilogy of mad men." The two that followed were in Green Street Hooligans and Children of Men. Charlie's role in Green Street Hooligans caught the eye of Kurt Sutter, who chose him to play the protagonist in his TV show Sons of Anarchy. The series about an outlaw motorcycle club became FX's most popular show ever and a critical success. Following his fame on American TV, Charlie had his first starring part in a film that was a commercial success, Pacific Rim. Show less «

I got really big, bigger than I've ever been for King Arthur. I got to 190 pounds!

Well, I have a great deal of pride, and I care infinitely about what my peers think [about me]. It c...Show more »

Well, I have a great deal of pride, and I care infinitely about what my peers think [about me]. It could be my downfall, but I don't think it is - Hollywood is run on perception, and if you stray off the path of what you want to do with your career, it's suicide. I have 60 years to make the money, but the choices I make in the next five years are really going to define my career. Show less «

"This is kind of my trilogy of madmen. I played the psycho in Cold Mountain (2003), my character in ...Show more »

"This is kind of my trilogy of madmen. I played the psycho in Cold Mountain (2003), my character in Hooligans (2005) (aka Green Street) is fairly psychotic and now I've got this role". On his role in Children of Men (2006). Show less «

When Im between jobs, I need to work out a lot for my sanity. If I weren't an actor, I'd be the fi...Show more »

When Im between jobs, I need to work out a lot for my sanity. If I weren't an actor, I'd be the fittest motherfucker on the block. Show less «

[on his performance in The Lost City of Z] I did the best work of my career so far in The Lost City ...Show more »

[on his performance in The Lost City of Z] I did the best work of my career so far in The Lost City of Z. Show less «

When some films do not pay as well and you have a mortgage to pay and you are on an economy drive ea...Show more »

When some films do not pay as well and you have a mortgage to pay and you are on an economy drive eating eggs and beans, and you are offered a million dollar role and you turn it down, as it is not right. I want to be doing this when I am 60 and getting the big paying roles then so I have to pick the parts that are right for the long term rather than take the money now. [on being picky choosing roles] Show less «

[on how he perceives life] I struggled through my childhood as a bit of a weird, existential kid. I ...Show more »

[on how he perceives life] I struggled through my childhood as a bit of a weird, existential kid. I was constantly preoccupied with trying to understand what it all meant. I've just grown up into a weird, existential adult. Show less «

[about maintaining his physical shape all the time] Thanks for noticing my physique. Unfortunately t...Show more »

[about maintaining his physical shape all the time] Thanks for noticing my physique. Unfortunately there is no secret to it, you just have to stop eating all of the things you want to eat and exercise everyday till you have lost the will to lift. I am sick of it. I am telling you, I am giving serious consideration to hanging up my six-pack! I think I am retiring. I'm 36 now, I'm too old for this! Show less «

[joking about all the shirtless pictures of him online] I am tired of seeing shirtless pictures of m...Show more »

[joking about all the shirtless pictures of him online] I am tired of seeing shirtless pictures of myself too! Actually, It started in a very honorable way for me. I am naturally skinny. But I keep getting hired to play these heroic guys. Like on Sons of Anarchy for the entire 7 years, I was 20 pounds heavier than where my body naturally wants to be at. So it takes an enormous amount of time and energy to get big and strong like that. And really I was acting with a bunch of big motherfuckers so psychologically, I wanted to feel like I could hold my own. But the by product of that is that I look like a gym dude. Which was never my intention! And anytime I see a picture of myself all shirtless and six-packed out I think what a twat, what a ego driven dickhead. And then something like King Arthur comes along and you can't be a chubby King Arthur, that's not the way to go. So all my gymming, it's for the profession. Show less «

[on whether being a sex symbol is limiting] It's both collateral damage and a huge opportunity. It's...Show more »

[on whether being a sex symbol is limiting] It's both collateral damage and a huge opportunity. It's a visual medium, and it makes it a lot easier to get roles if you're easier on the eyes. But the reality is you get on set and every scene is a challenge to make work. Show less «

[on how he created the look for King Arthur] I was very very skinny at the end of shooting Sons of A...Show more »

[on how he created the look for King Arthur] I was very very skinny at the end of shooting Sons of Anarchy which I was shooting right before I came to do King Arthur. I had 8 weeks or something like that to put on as much weight as I can. I have a very responsive body as I have been losing weight and putting it back on many times so the body remembers how to do that. But for this, I wanted to push it further and get into even better shape than I had ever been. We talked about the physicality of Arthur early on and we wanted him to feel like a starving wolf. So I didn't want to get swollen up, I wanted to be really really ripped and have very little body fat. So it required a really disciplined diet and lots and lots and lots of push-ups and pull ups. Show less «

[on full frontal nudity] The level of nudity that I do now, which is taking my shirt off, doesn't bo...Show more »

[on full frontal nudity] The level of nudity that I do now, which is taking my shirt off, doesn't bother me at all. But I have done full frontal before. I did full frontal when I was 18 on the TV show Queer as Folk. But because I was playing a 15-year-old character, the censorship people wouldn't allow us to put it on TV. I'm sure I would [be willing to do full frontal even now]. I'll never use a body double. I'm not worried. I have nothing to hide. Show less «

I always think it's better to take a smaller role in a great film rather than a leading role in some...Show more »

I always think it's better to take a smaller role in a great film rather than a leading role in something that you don't have complete faith in. Show less «

[on whether he left Fifty Shades of Grey due to the explicit sex scenes] I was excited about that el...Show more »

[on whether he left Fifty Shades of Grey due to the explicit sex scenes] I was excited about that element of it. The outside perception of that was that I got really cold feet and got scared of the explicit nature of the sexuality of the piece. You know what, I had such a baptism of fire with regards to sexuality on camera at the beginning of my career. I starred in the British Channel 4 miniseries Queer as Folk, where I played a young, gay character, and there were some incredible, explicit sex scenes on that show. When I was 18, I was getting fucked in the ass, completely naked, on national TV, y'know? So now that I am 16 years older and more mature, I don't anticipate [sex scenes] being too much of a problem. It's an exciting challenge. Show less «

Charlie Hunnam

Charlie Hunnam's FILMOGRAPHY

Charlie Hunnam'S roles

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