Category: Interviews

Charlie Hunnam Captivates on Screen, but He’s Even Better in Real Life

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Charlie Hunnam is dancing within seconds of our introduction. “I just invented a POPSUGAR dance,” he says. “Do you want to see it?” I tell him that I absolutely do, of course, and soon he’s half bent over while punching the air with both arms, doing what can best be described as a victory dance.

When I admit that I’d kill to have his moves on video, he just laughs, taking a seat at our small table and sitting back in his chair, ready for what must feel like the millionth interview of the week.

If anybody deserves a victory dance right now, it’s Hunnam. The 37-year-old actor is in the midst of a jam-packed press circuit as the star of two of Spring’s most buzzed-about movies, King Arthur and The Lost City of Z. We meet during a press junket for the latter, a sweeping film about British explorer Percy Fawcett, and when he tells me that it’s been a busy two months, I know that’s quite the understatement.

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The Lost City of Z is based on a book by the same name from author David Grann. Set in the early 1900s, the movie follows the true story of Lieutenant Colonel Fawcett and Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson), who trek to the Amazon and find evidence of a previously unknown civilization. Fawcett’s adventures, while thrilling, come at a cost, as he and his wife (Sienna Miller) both grapple with the sacrifices they’re forced to make in the pursuit of Fawcett’s dreams.

To prepare for the role, Hunnam chose to make a few sacrifices of his own. “I decided I needed to sort of suffer,” he tells me. “I was a bit worried about everything that was going to be required for me in this film, so I wanted to do everything I could to cut down on the amount of acting required so I could just feel the experience.”

That translated to cutting himself off completely. He didn’t speak to his girlfriend of 12 years, Morgana McNelis, for four months. He also didn’t send any emails, make any phone calls, or go on the internet.

“It had the desired effect. I found myself feeling intensely isolated and lonely,” he says. “On the days where I was happy with the work I was doing, it felt like a valid sacrifice, and on the days where I was really unhappy with the work I was doing, I was just struck by the folly of it all, and the tragedy of it all, you know?”
He starts to laugh a bit. “In those moments, I would just fantasize about being home, cuddled up in bed with my girlfriend and my cat.”

I ask the important question: “What’s your cat’s name?”

“George,” he says, breaking into a half-grin that’s almost shy.

That’s how our conversation continues to see-saw, shifting from heavy to light in an instant, then back again. With quiet confidence and a loud laugh, Hunnam is charming. He’s a thoughtful, comfortable conversationalist, and a great storyteller.

He gets animated when I bring up a particular moment in the movie that captured my attention, one that happens to be a shot that he suggested himself. In the first half of the film, Fawcett and his crew are traveling along the river when a tribe starts to attack them with arrows. Fawcett holds up his journal to block one of the arrows, and in a dreamlike moment, the scene briefly flashes to his family. Continue reading Charlie Hunnam Captivates on Screen, but He’s Even Better in Real Life

Charlie Hunnam Gushes About His Girlfriend, Reveals How He Prepped to Play a Dad

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When it comes to Charlie Hunnam’s role in The Lost City of Z, we imagine it must have been hard to prepare. After all, the story is set in the 1920s and it’s all about a British explorer named Percy Fawcett who disappears into the Amazon jungle, hoping to find a long-lost civilization. That’s pretty far-flung from an actor in the 21st century, but Charlie was up to the challenge. We interviewed him at the LA premiere for the film, where he shed a bit of insight into his preparation process. And, well, let’s just say it wasn’t a walk in the park. In fact, there was quite a bit of sacrifice.

“In this film particularly, Fawcett made an enormous amount of sacrifice for his work. You know, he would go away, and obviously in a time when we didn’t have a lot of the technical luxury we do now, and he would be away from his wife for three or four years at a time. So, it’s always good to remove oneself as much as possible from the distractions of life when working, because it requires 100 percent absolute focus. But for this, also, it was played into specifically some of the hardship that the character that I was playing had experienced. So, it was sort of a no-brainer to me. Switch the phone off, switch the computer off, say, ‘All right, I’ll see everyone in four months.’ But, you know, I will say you have to have incredibly supportive and understanding people around you to allow you to do these types of things. I’ve been with my girlfriend for 12 years, and I said, ‘Would it be OK if we don’t talk for the next four months?’ A lot of people would say, ‘Go f*ck yourself.’ My girlfriend said, ‘Hey, listen, you know, I know how important your work is to you, so just go do whatever you need to do.'”

Aside from the whole “losing contact with everyone in your life” thing, there was another aspect of Charlie’s character that, at first glance, may have posed a problem. In the film, Percy has a son named Jack Fawcett, who’s played by Tom Holland (who will also star in Spider-Man: Homecoming later this year). Charlie isn’t a father (yet), so we were curious about whether he had trouble getting into that mindset.

“I have younger brothers that I have felt very paternal towards,” Charlie explained. “I mean, they have a father of their own, but they’re so much younger than me that I’ve always felt very protective and I’ve wanted to impart whatever gossamer amount of wisdom that I have to them. So, I guess, no is the short answer.”

With such a supportive girlfriend and that lovely family experience, it’s safe to say Charlie is a lucky guy.

Source: popsugar.com