Charlie Hunnam

Biography of

Charlie Hunnam

If you’ve ever watched a film and thought, “That bloke looks like he could sort out a pub brawl and then head home to read Shakespeare before bed,” chances are you were watching Charlie Hunnam. The Geordie actor has somehow perfected the art of looking both rugged and ridiculously handsome at the same time, which probably explains why Hollywood has spent the last twenty years sticking him in leather jackets and letting him brood at things.

For most people, he’ll forever be Jax Teller, the leather-clad king of chaos in Sons of Anarchy. For seven seasons, Charlie rode motorbikes, made questionable life choices and stared moodily into the distance with enough intensity to power half of California. He didn’t just play a biker; he became one of television’s most beloved anti-heroes, building a fanbase so devoted they’d probably have followed him into an actual outlaw motorcycle club if he’d asked nicely.

Long before Hollywood came calling, though, Hunnam was already making waves on British television. His breakout role came in Russell T Davies’ ground-breaking drama Queer as Folk, where he played Nathan Maloney with a mixture of charm, vulnerability and youthful confidence that immediately marked him out as a star in the making. It proved that behind the cheekbones and Geordie accent was an actor with serious talent.

Since hanging up the biker leathers, Hunnam has bounced between giant monsters in Pacific Rim, medieval mayhem in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and Guy Ritchie’s wonderfully stylish criminal underworld in The Gentlemen. One thing he’s never seemed interested in doing is playing safe. While some leading men are happy smiling in romantic comedies for the next thirty years, Charlie always seems more interested in characters who have clearly made at least three terrible decisions before breakfast.

And somehow, despite becoming a Hollywood star, he’s never lost that down-to-earth quality. He still gives off the vibe of the bloke you’d bump into at the pub, except he’d probably look annoyingly handsome while ordering his crisps.

Insomniacs Trivia

• Charlie’s acting career began in the most random way imaginable. While messing about in a Newcastle branch of JD Sports on Christmas Eve, he caught the attention of a production manager who offered him a role in Byker Grove. Most people leave JD Sports with trainers. Charlie left with a career.

• He came surprisingly close to playing Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels and even met George Lucas. Unfortunately, nerves got the better of him, and he later admitted the whole experience was painfully awkward. Somewhere in another universe, Darth Vader has a Geordie accent.

• His Cockney accent in Green Street Hooligans has become something of a legend. The film itself became a cult favourite, but Charlie’s attempt at sounding like an East End hard man has appeared on countless lists of cinema’s most questionable accents. Fair play to him though, he gave it a proper go.

Insomniacs Take

Charlie Hunnam has mastered the art of looking effortlessly cool without ever seeming like he’s trying too hard. Whether he’s riding Harleys, fighting giant monsters or exchanging insults in a Guy Ritchie crime film, he brings a rugged charm that makes almost everything he’s in instantly more watchable. And let’s be honest, if things kicked off down the local, Charlie Hunnam is probably one of the first blokes you’d want standing next to you.

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