Charlie Hunnam facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Charlie Hunnam
Hunnam in 2024
Born	Charles Matthew Hunnam (1980-04-10) 10 April 1980 (age 45) Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Alma mater	Cumbria College of Art and Design
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Katharine Towne ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2002)​
Partner(s)	Morgana McNelis (2005–present)

Charles Matthew Hunnam (born 10 April 1980) is an actor from England. He is well-known for playing Jax Teller in the TV show Sons of Anarchy from 2008 to 2014. For this role, he was nominated twice for a big award called the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor.

Charlie Hunnam has also starred in many movies. Some of these include Green Street (2005), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), Pacific Rim (2013), and Triple Frontier (2019). He also played Percy Fawcett in The Lost City of Z (2016) and Arthur Pendragon in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017).

On TV, he has been in the British show Queer as Folk (1999–2000), the American show Undeclared (2001–2002), and the Apple TV+ series Shantaram (2022).

Early Life and Education

Growing Up in England

Charles Matthew Hunnam was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on 10 April 1980. His mother, Jane Bell, was a ballet dancer and owned a business. His father was William Hunnam. One of his grandmothers was an artist who painted portraits. Charlie has said that his mother did a great job raising him and his older brother, William, by herself. He also has two younger half-brothers named Oliver and Christian from his mother's side.

When Charlie was 12, his mother got married again, and the family moved to Melmerby in Cumbria. He went to Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith, but he was later asked to leave. During his teenage years, he enjoyed playing rugby and sometimes got into fights with other students.

Studying Performing Arts

Instead of going to a regular university, Charlie decided to study performing arts at the Cumbria College of Art and Design in Carlisle. This college is now part of the University of Cumbria. He earned a special degree that combined film theory (learning about how movies are made and what they mean) and film history (studying movies from the past). He also studied performing arts, which includes acting. Charlie had plans to write and direct his own movies one day.

Acting Career Highlights

Starting Out (1997–2007)

Charlie Hunnam was discovered when he was 17 years old. It was Christmas Eve, and he was in a shoe store with his brother. A person who worked for a TV show called Byker Grove saw him. Soon after, Charlie got his first acting job playing a character named Jason for three episodes of the show. He also tried modeling for a short time, doing a photo shoot for Kangol Caps, but he decided it wasn't for him.

His first big role came when he was 18. He was chosen by Russell T Davies to play Nathan Maloney, a 15-year-old schoolboy, in the TV drama Queer as Folk. After that, he played Daz in the movie Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? (1999) and then moved to the United States. Charlie was considered for the role of Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars movie, but another actor, Hayden Christensen, got the part instead.

His career grew, and he had a repeating role as Gregor Ryder in the TV show Young Americans. He then appeared in the TV series Undeclared as a British drama student named Lloyd Haythe. Even though critics liked the show, it was canceled after one season. Charlie then appeared in movies like Abandon (2002), Nicholas Nickleby (2002), and Cold Mountain (2003). Charlie said he didn't want to just take any role. He wanted to choose roles that would help shape his career.

This led him to return to the UK to play the main role of Pete Dunham in the movie Green Street (2005). He played a character who was a bit wild in this movie. He also played Patric in Children of Men (2006).

Becoming a Star (2008–2012)

Hunnam at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2010

From 2008 to 2014, Charlie Hunnam starred in Sons of Anarchy. He played Jackson "Jax" Teller, who was a leader of a motorcycle club. The show's creator, Kurt Sutter, chose Charlie after seeing him in Green Street Hooligans. His acting as Jax Teller earned him several award nominations, including for Best Lead Actor in a Drama series.

In 2011, Charlie played Gavin Nichols in the movie The Ledge. In 2012, he starred as the main character in the comedy 3,2,1... Frankie Go Boom with his Sons of Anarchy co-star Ron Perlman. Charlie said that filming scenes with Ron Perlman was one of the best and funniest days of his career. He also played Jay, a former boxer, in the crime movie Deadfall (2012).

Big Movie Roles (2013–2019)

Hunnam at San Diego Comic-Con in 2016

Charlie Hunnam starred as Raleigh Becket in Guillermo del Toro's science fiction movie Pacific Rim. This movie was released in July 2013 and earned a lot of money around the world. In 2013, it was announced that Charlie would play the main role of Christian Grey in the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. However, he later decided not to do the movie because of scheduling conflicts with his TV series Sons of Anarchy.

In 2014, Charlie won an award called the Huading Award for Best Global Emerging Actor for his role in Pacific Rim. He worked with director Guillermo del Toro again in the horror movie Crimson Peak, which was released in 2015.

Charlie also starred as the explorer Percy Fawcett in the movie The Lost City of Z, which was filmed in 2015 and released in 2017. He played the famous King Arthur in Guy Ritchie's action-adventure movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, released in 2017. He then appeared in Guy Ritchie's 2019 movie The Gentlemen alongside Matthew McConaughey.

Recent Projects (2020–Present)

In 2022, Charlie Hunnam played Charlie Waldo in the mystery movie Last Looks. His first show for Apple TV+, Shantaram, started in October 2022. In this series, Charlie plays the main character, Lin Ford. The show is based on a book written in 2003.

In February 2023, it was announced that Charlie Hunnam joined Zack Snyder's Netflix movie project Rebel Moon. This project brought him back together with his King Arthur: Legend of the Sword co-star Djimon Hounsou. The first part of the space adventure movie, Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire, was released in December 2023. The second part, Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver, was released in April 2024.

In May 2024, Charlie was chosen to play the main role in a new show for Amazon Prime Video. The show is based on a comic series called Criminal, and Charlie will play a skilled master thief named Leo.

Personal Life

Charlie Hunnam met actress Katharine Towne in 1999 when they were both trying out for roles in a TV show. After dating for three weeks, they got married in Las Vegas. They later divorced in 2002. He has also dated model Sophie Dahl and artist Morgana McNelis. He has been in a relationship with Morgana McNelis since 2005.

In 2016, Charlie started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which is a type of martial art. He earned his blue belt in October 2018.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

Awards and Nominations

Film Awards

Television Awards

See also

In Spanish: Charlie Hunnam para niños