30 Things You May Not Know About Charlie Hunnam

Updated on 4/12/2018 at 1:05 PM

One star who's getting a whole lot of attention lately is actor Charlie Hunnam. The handsome Brit, who turns 38 on April 10, recently caught fans' eyes when he was spotted shirtless on the beach alongside Triple Frontier costars Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, and Garrett Hedlund. The buzzy pictures added to his long list of sexy moments over the past couple of years. Charlie's Hollywood evolution started more than a decade ago, but he's still winning over plenty of fans with his talent and, of course, his good looks. Interested in expanding your Charlie Hunnam expertise? Check out 30 must-know facts.

Charlie's mom was an artist, and his dad was a scrap-metal dealer, and they separated when he was young. His dad passed away in 2013.
He grew up in Newcastle, England.
He has one older brother and two younger half-brothers, and he told us that he feels "very protective" over his younger brothers.

Growing up, Charlie played rugby.
For years it's been his dream to live "a little obscure life," because he's felt as if he was on "the cusp of an existential crisis" since he was 3 years old.
That same draw toward a smaller life is why Charlie planned to buy a ranch, but he had "something of a nervous breakdown" and ended up backing out.
He credits his social awareness to his upbringing, saying, "I grew up in a pretty socially and economically depressed place. I felt really conscious as a very, very young man — like 7 or 8 — that everybody was just so caught up in survival and the drudgery of just getting through the day."

Although he definitely wasn't a nerd, Charlie has said that he wasn't the coolest kid in school: "I mean, I had my awkward years."
The film Excalibur inspired him to become an actor, making his role as King Arthur all the more meaningful.
Charlie was approached by a talent scout when he was drunk and doing some last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve.
Having never been to America, he moved to LA when he was 18 years old.

Early in his career, Charlie dated Katharine Towne, and the couple got married after knowing each other for only three weeks. They divorced in 2002.
He and his current girlfriend, jewelry designer Morgana McNelis (pictured above), met in 2007, and he wears a ring she gave him that's engraved with the phrase "I love you endlessly."
His relationship is part of why he isn't fazed by fangirls. Of all the female attention, he's said, "To what end? I have a girlfriend. If you were, like, 25 and a p*ssy hound, being famous would be awesome. But it's not like I'm spending too much time in Vegas or in the Hollywood clubs or anything like that. So it doesn't really benefit me much."
Charlie has quite the dedicated followers, and in one of his more out-there fan moments, a woman wrote him a letter asking for a lock of his hair or . . . a toenail. Well, then.

When it comes to feeling pressured to be fit, Charlie once blamed Brad Pitt, saying, "F*cking Brad Pitt ruined it for everyone. After Fight Club, the expectation of what a dude is supposed to look like when he takes off his shirt is just so high."
As for that body, he doesn't have a trainer because he considers working out to be his time for himself.
His fitness routine involves a mix of running, swimming, hiking, and jiu-jitsu. Oh, and he also tries to make love "as often as he can."
Along with being health-conscious, he's also eco-conscious. He brought his own eggs to set while filming Sons of Anarchy because they were from a farm down the road.
Charlie also gave up fish for 18 months after getting really torn up over the End of the Line documentary, which is all about the effects of overfishing.

The actor is adding "writer" to his résumé, as he's developing a project about his late father that he plans to star in.
Over the years, he's turned down some interesting roles. His pal Jason Segel wrote a part for him in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but Charlie couldn't do it, so the role went to Russell Brand. He's said, "I couldn't see that movie for a while because I was a bit tortured by it," adding, "Russell Brand did a so much better job than I would have done in the movie."
He also turned down Thor, and he feels like Chris Hemsworth was right for the part.
He's taken on more serious roles in recent years, but he's into the idea of comedy, too. He told us, "I've been really craving doing something . . . a bit more lively and energetic and irreverent."

Like his Sons of Anarchy character, he's into motorcycles, and he rides a Harley. Talking about riding, he's said, "You smell the scents of the city, the garbage, the flowers, and bread baking. I feel more engaged in the world on a bike. That's the romantic side of it."
He's said that he had more in common with Jax when he was younger, but less so now that he's gotten a bit older.
Charlie isn't afraid to defend himself, either. He's said that he keeps a machete in his office, and when a burglar came into his house, he challenged him: "I pinned him to the ground and said, 'Dude, I'm not going to f*ck you up this time, but if you ever come near here again, literally, they'll never find your body — I'll cut you in so many pieces.'"

For a while, Charlie had quite the sneaker obsession. He collected Nike Airmax 90 shoes, eventually ending up with 85 pairs. Eventually, though, he picked six or seven to keep, then gave the rest to friends and to charity.
He once admitted that he stole clothes, attributing his large wardrobe to the clothes he's taken from movie sets and from the Sons of Anarchy set.
One special habit he has? A cool New Year's tradition: "I tend to go to bed really early on New Year's Eve. Then I wake up early, drive up while it's still dark, and hike out somewhere beautiful to watch the sunrise. I just take a couple hours and have a postmortem of the year."