Charlie Hunnam

Charlie Hunnam

Active - 2001 - 2023  |   Born - Apr 10, 1980 in Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, England  |   Genres - Crime, Drama, Adventure

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Biography by AllMovie

Fair-haired, hunky British performer Charlie Hunnam began life in Newcastle, England, and moved to Hollywood at the age of 19 (around 1999) in a quest for movie and television stardom. He found it almost instantly as homosexual character Nathan on the first two seasons of the groundbreaking Showtime series drama Queer as Folk (1999-2001), then signed on to work for executive producer Judd Apatow and others with a role as a college student in the short-lived but critically worshipped situation comedy Undeclared (2001). Hunnam's feature film contributions began shortly thereafter and witnessed him specializing in intense, angry, often psychotic characterizations; memorable assignments included a portrayal of the nasty villain in Anthony Minghella's period drama Cold Mountain (2003) and a gold-toothed, dreadlocked psychopath in the dystopian saga Children of Men (2006). The role that truly rocketed Hunnam to acclaim, however, cut closest to his British roots: a scarily accurate evocation of a thuggish English footballer in the gritty drama Green Street Hooligans (2005). He appeared in the well-regarded dystopian sci-fi film Children of Men as well as Robert Towne's long-planned adaptation of the novel Ask the Dust. He appeared in the first season of the TV series Sons of Anarchy in 2008, and had a major role in the 2011 thriller The Ledge.

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Factsheet

  • Broke into television at the age of 15 when a production manager for the British series Byker Grove noticed him in a shoe store. The encounter led to three appearances on the long-running show.
  • Moved to Los Angeles in 1999 and soon landed a role in Young Americans, a short-lived Dawson's Creek spin-off.
  • Learned how to ride a motorcycle for his role in Children of Men.
  • Had been previously cast in two uncompleted film projects with Sons of Anarchy costar Tommy Flanagan.
  • Participated with the rest of the Sons of Anarchy cast in the 2008 Love Ride, a motorcycle event that benefits several California charities.
  • Wrote a screenplay based on the life of Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula.