Charlie Hunnam on the ‘Distance’ He Had While Working With Robert Pattinson — ‘I Don’t Think I Said More Than Ten Words’ to Him
After playing the role of Jax Teller on Sons of Anarchy for seven seasons, Charlie Hunnam moved on to film roles. In 2016, Hunnam starred alongside Robert Pattinson in James Gray’s biopic The Lost City of Z. However, according to Hunnam, he and Pattinson didn’t have a great working relationship while on set. In fact, Hunnam doesn’t think he said “more than ten words” to Pattinson when the cameras weren’t rolling.
Charlie Hunnam ‘fell in love’ with the role of Percy Fawcett in ‘Lost City of Z’
In Lost City of Z, Hunnam played British explorer Percy Fawcett who meets Pattinson’s Corporal Henry Costin aboard a ship to Brazil. They team up on Fawcett’s expedition to the Amazon to find the fabled “Lost City of Z.” When Hunnam first read the script, he knew immediately that he wanted to be part of the project.
“My initial reaction to reading James’s script was one of total joy and terror. It was, bar none, the best script I’ve ever read. It felt to me like the biggest challenge I had been given so far so I wanted to immediately jump in and give it everything I had,” Hunnam told ScreenDaily.
Hunnam says he went through a “very rapid process” of losing weight for the role after starring in Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. He says he lost approximately 60 pounds in nine weeks, and he wanted to “fill” himself up with Fawcett.
As he researched the role, Hunnam says the one thing he admired most as a human characteristic was authenticity. The 40-year-old explained that it was important for him to put a level of himself into playing Fawcett, as well as honoring who he was.
“I fell in love with Fawcett and felt a responsibility to do him justice,” Hunnam explained.
The ‘Sons of Anarchy’ star wanted his relationship with Robert Pattinson to ‘evolve naturally’
Hunnam revealed that he did have some rehearsal sessions with his co-star Sienna Miller. However, he didn’t spend any time with Pattinson or Tom Holland. Hunnam says he wanted those relationships to “evolve naturally on screen.”
“Through the work, I don’t think I said more than ten words to Robert off camera,” Hunnam admitted. “I didn’t know if he was just ‘in that zone’ or if he genuinely didn’t like me. There was a real distance between us.”
The actor noted that the distance between him and Pattinson created the right dynamic on screen. Hunnam also revealed that Pattinson reached out to him after shooting the film and made “overtures” for them to be friends now. This led Hunnam to believe that the distance between him and his co-star on set was simply “about the work.”
Charlie Hunnam doesn’t mind Robert Pattinson’s acting process
While Pattinson isn’t a method actor who totally immerses himself into a role both on and off-screen, he does have a unique approach to his work. Even though Pattinson’s approach distanced him from Hunnam on the set, the Sons of Anarchy alum doesn’t mind.
“You know, it’s funny. I don’t really know Robert that well. From the little I know, I like him enormously,” Hunnam told Entertainment Tonight. “He’s a very sweet, intelligent, and thoughtful man.”
Hunnam made it clear that no rivalry emerged between him and Pattinson on set, and he has no thing but “mad love” for The Lost City of Z. He says that during the shoot, he wanted to “be away from everybody.” Not only did he scale back his living situation as much as possible, but Hunnam only kept in touch with his girlfriend, Morgana McNelis.
“They found this tiny hotel for me that was basically like little huts in the jungle where I could be by myself. I was so engaged in this process of no emails, no phone — I didn’t speak to the rest of the outside world during the duration of the shooting.”
The Lost City of Z is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
