If you only know Charlie Hunnam as a badass on a Harley, wait until you see his pet cat. Plus,
why he didn't land "Fifty Shades of Grey" or "Thor." All that and more, right here.
If you woke up one morning as a famous actor with money to blow, what's the first thing
you'd splurge on? For a ton of today's celebrities, it's all about the footwear.
"Ho ho ho ho, hold the fudge. You mean to tell me that nobody snapped up those bad boys?"
Charlie Hunnam certainly had a shoe obsession during the early part of his career as well.
His Achilles' heel? Nike Air Max 90s.
Speaking to GQ in 2013, Hunnam explained that when he was a kid,
his family couldn't afford to buy him expensive shoes.
But when Nike re-issued the infra-red colorway in the early 2000s, he couldn't resist. He explained:
"I don't know how it happened,
but I became obsessed with buying every colorway I could get my hands on."
Although he had amassed a massive collection, he apparently hardly ever wore them,
opting to keep most pairs in their boxes.
Later, in a 2017 interview with Elle, the actor admitted that he'd grown up,
meaning that his collection of kicks had to go. He said:
"I took out six or seven pairs that I cared about, and I gave the rest to charity."
It was actually a pair of shoes that set Charlie Hunnam off on the road to fame,
success, and wealth. In the late 1990s,
a teenaged Hunnam wanted to be an actor and was attending film school,
but he was yet to book any work. Hunnam explained on "The Graham Norton Show" that he found himself
Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve after having spent the previous four hours in a pub drinking.
"I was in JD Sports trying on some trainers for my brother and a bit of a dance around, drunk."
A woman in the store was watching his inebriated act, so Hunnam playfully blew her a kiss.
The woman turned out to be the production manager of "Byker Grove," a long-running,
family-friendly U.K. drama about the goings-on at an urban youth group.
Hunnam was invited to audition and he landed a part on the show as a character named Jason.
"It's all laid on in this game. All we have to do is look good and cash the checks."
Although it's been over a decade since it first graced theaters, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"
is still widely revered as one of the finest romantic comedies of its era. Who could forget the
ludicrously humorous plight of Jason Segel's Peter Bretter, who regrettably vacations at the same
resort as his ex-girlfriend, superstar actress Sarah Marshall, and her new beau, eccentric rocker
Aldous Snow? Every actor in this 2008 classic feels perfectly picked for their respective roles,
but as it turns out, the cast wasn't always set in stone, particularly with one key part.
Believe it or not, Russell Brand wasn't the first choice to play Aldous Snow. Speaking to Collider,
Charlie Hunnam revealed that Segel, who both wrote and starred in the film, had actually originally
written the part for him. Hunnam and Segel were close friends at the time, having recently worked
together on the early 2000s comedy series, "Undeclared." Hunnam ultimately decided that
the part wasn't right for him, but he admitted that he really struggled turning his friend down.
However, when he saw a piece of Brand's stand-up, he felt assured about his decision, saying:
"Obviously, that's the dude who should have been playing that
role. [...] My relationship with Jason gave birth to that character,
but there's no way I could have done it justice the way Russell Brand did."
"That's very flexible. That's nice."
Before Jamie Dornan slipped into the highly-provocative role of
Christian Grey in 2015's "Fifty Shades of Grey," Universal was apparently all-in
on Charlie Hunnam for the part. In fact, the author of the wildly popular literary series,
E.L. James, even made the announcement over Twitter in 2013.
However, as most people know by now, the pairing just wasn't meant to be.
Hunnam ultimately dropped out of the role due to scheduling difficulties. While Dornan wound
up being a perfectly suitable replacement, some fans still wonder what could have been had Hunnam
not turned down the role. As it turns out, the "Crimson Peak" actor himself sometimes does, too.
In 2014, Hunnam got candid with reporters
about missing out on what could have been the role of a lifetime, saying:
"When you put the time into something like that and a character comes alive in your mind,
it's heartbreaking not to be able to play him. It was definitely kind
of heartbreaking having to say goodbye to that character and not bring it to life."
To the average Joe, locking lips with some of Hollywood's most attractive women
might sound like a dream come true. However, in an interview with Elle,
Hunnam revealed that he truthfully has a very different opinion on the matter, admitting:
"Everyone thinks it's great to be an actor and get to kiss a
bunch of beautiful actresses in films, but I actually hate it."
While he admits that his longtime partner, Morgana McNelis, is not the biggest fan of
watching her main man get steamy onscreen with another woman, the "Pacific Rim" star cites a
different personal phobia that explains his distaste for spit-swapping scenes.
"I've got a little bit of germophobia." "Oh,
you're a germophobe." "I try to keep it clean." "Okay. Okay."
While this may seem like a bit of a peculiarity,
there's actually a long list of celebs who are huge germophobes,
so he's certainly not alone in that regard. Knowing all of the intimate scenes required for
"50 Shades of Grey," maybe it's best that Hunnam passed on the role of Christian Grey after all.
Throughout the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a number of actors and actresses
have seen their careers explode due to their heroic onscreen portrayals.
Although it's now nearly impossible to envision anyone but Chris Hemsworth in
the mighty Marvel role of Thor, the studio originally had its eye on Hunnam for the gig.
During a press conference at 2017's CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards,
Charlie Hunnam divulged that before they found Hemsworth,
Marvel was interested in bringing him on to play the god of thunder in 2011's "Thor." He recalled:
"I auditioned, and I met with the director and the guys at Marvel several times.
And it was sort of this awkward dance that we were having."
He went on to add that neither party totally bought into the idea,
but he and the filmmakers played around with the potential casting for a while.
Why did they ultimately change their minds? Hunnam bluntly added:
"Then they found Chris Hemsworth and that ended abruptly."
"Noooooo!"
There are certainly more than a few Hollywood elites who prefer
playing. Some celebs are consistently single, some are constantly changing who they're dating,
and some have even been engaged multiple times.
Charlie Hunnam's public dating profile is a little less extravagant compared to most of his peers.
Although the rumor mill has thrown Hunnam's name into more than a few unverified relationships,
he's kept his dating life pretty close to the chest. When the English star was only 18 years
old, he came to America to audition for "Dawson's Creek." Although he didn't get the part, he met a
fellow actor at the audition named Katharine Towne. Only three weeks later, the two went
to Las Vegas and got hitched. The couple stayed together for three years before divorcing in 2002.
A few years later, Hunnam started seeing American jewelry designer Morgana McNelis,
and apparently, the two were simply made for each other – they've been together ever since.
"I've been with my girlfriend for 14 and a half years."
If you're working on a super-intense TV show for an extended period of time,
there's bound to be some dramatic tension build-up behind the scenes. For a series like "Sons of
Anarchy," which was just as much a character piece as it was a brutally violent drama,
it's totally understandable that the show's actors would clash at times with the people in charge.
Speaking to Men's Journal, Hunnam admitted that sometimes things got
a little dicey on set between he and the show's creator Kurt Sutter, saying:
"I love that guy, but it was hard for us to work together sometimes
because we're both crazy. There has been security rushing onto set and pulling us apart before."
Although that may sound a little alarming, there's nothing but love between the two
men today. Hunnam referred to Sutter as his "Hollywood dad"
in an interview with Men's Health, noting the shared respect within the pair's relationship.
Apparently, the feeling is mutual. When speaking on the "100% Honest Pretty Much" podcast,
Sutter also had nothing but flattering things to say about his show's former lead.
You may know him as broody biker bad-boy Jax Teller from the ultraviolent FX hit drama
"Sons of Anarchy" or as the stoic hero of "Pacific Rim,"
but Charlie Hunnam is much more than your stereotypical action hero.
"I think this guy's dead, but let's check for a pulse." "Okay."
Behind the scenes, he's apparently a bit
more reserved than the characters he portrays in shoot-em-up blockbusters.
In an interview with GQ, Hunnam, who turned 40 in 2020, discussed how getting older has put
his career in a bit of a transitional phase, and that writing has become his primary focus, saying:
"I've spent these last six to eight months writing five hours a week.
I wrote a screenplay, and I wrote a television show,
a six-part television show. And right now I'm in the middle of writing a miniseries."
He's actually sold four screenplays to major studios throughout his career,
and although none of them have been made yet, he's still really enjoying the process.
Of all the screenplays Charlie Hunnam has written, the most high profile and notable is his script
about the life of Vlad the Impaler, the 15th century noble who inspired the Dracula story.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Hunnam began writing "Vlad" in 2006, and three years later,
with a writers' strike and the author landing a regular acting gig on "Sons of Anarchy,"
development finally began. Despite that, production still hasn't begun
on "Vlad" ... more than a decade after it was first announced.
Although onscreen he often portrays tough guys and scrappy badasses,
Charlie Hunnam apparently has a major soft spot for kitty cats in real life — in particular,
his pet cat George, who he rescued on his roof during a rainstorm.
"He was lying like this, half submerged in a
puddle." "Awww." "And I picked him up, and my heart broke."
When his longtime partner, Morgana McNelis, took to her Instagram to try and start a
GoFundMe page for a kitten in need of surgery, her main man came through in a
major way. In a post updating her followers on the kitten's progress, McNelis wrote:
"Charlie just found out about the GoFundMe for Stitch's surgery and was very upset that
I did not ask him directly. […] He insists on covering the remaining cost of the vet bills."
Apparently, she didn't ask him in the first place because he had already paid for another
cat's surgery that month. Charlie Hunnam is a friend to not just felines, but dogs as well.
In 2019, Entertainment Weekly posted an adorable video to their Instagram page
showing Hunnam cuddling up with puppies for National Pet Day.
Nowadays, it seems like TV reboots, spinoffs and long-running continuations have become an industry
norm. Netflix's "Fuller House" breathed new life into the legendary '90s sitcom, "Full House,"
in 2016. Meanwhile, "Star Trek: Picard" returned Sir Patrick Stewart to his long-extinct "Star
Trek" role, and Peacock's remake of "Saved By the Bell" brought a few familiar faces,
including Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley, back to Bayside High.
While some stars may be all too happy to slip back into the roles that jump started
their Hollywood careers, Charlie Hunnam isn't one of them. While
the British actor is genuinely grateful for the show that put him on the map,
he has absolutely no intention of ever returning to the world of "Sons of Anarchy" as Jax Teller.
"He's, you know, he's not with us anymore.
I would never bring him back from the dead for something like that."
For Charlie Hunnam, it's all about looking forward in life.
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