Charlie Hunnam Reveals It Was A ‘Dream Come True’ To Play King Arthur In ‘Legend Of The Sword’

Ever since he was a little boy, Charlie Hunnam dreamed of playing the legendary King Arthur.

Thanks to Guy Ritchie, Hunnam finally got his wish.

The Sons of Anarchy star is set to play a young King Arthur in Ritchie’s upcoming film, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

The only difference is that Ritchie’s version of the iconic legend is going to very different than anything Hunnam watched as a kid.

“[Ritchie’s] created a very rich, exciting world. I describe it to my friends as Lord of the Rings meets Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. [It’s] an unlikely marriage of two things, but it works,” Hunnam told Empire Online.

What is so different about Hunnam’s portrayal of King Arthur?

“We wanted to make an ignoble Arthur, at least at first,” Hunnam explained. “We wanted him to feel contemporary, selfish, somewhat rough around the edges.”

Given Ritchie’s unusual interpretation of the story, the director went to great lengths to make sure Hunnam was right for the job.

In fact, Den of Geek is reporting that Ritchie pushed Hunnam so hard that he almost fought the other actors that were up for the part.

“I said, ‘You know what? F*****g stop the camera,'” Hunnam said. “‘I’m starting to lose my temper. I know those other pricks you’ve got reading for this role (namely Henry Cavill and Michael Fassbender). If you bring them in right now, I’ll f*****g fight them both at once for the role, and we’ll see what’s up with the physicality.’ Guy said, ‘F*****g hell, alright – calm down, mate.'”

Apart from Charlie Hunnam, the new movie stars Jude Law as the villain Vortigern, Annabelle Wallis as Maid Maggie, Katie McGrath as Elsa, Aidan Gillen as Goosefat Bill Wilson, Eric Bana as Uther Pendragon, Djimon Hounsou as Sir Bedievere, and Kamil Lemieszewski as Merlin.

David Beckham is also slated to make a cameo, though his exact part is still unknown.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is Hunnam’s most recent work following his days on Kurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy.

Speaking of Sons of Anarchy, HNGN reports that the prequel to the hit biker drama has officially been confirmed.

The prequel will center on the story of Jax Teller’s (Hunnam) father, John, and the origins of the biker club, SAMCRO.

Sadly, the prequel will take place long before the events in Sons of Anarchy so it doesn’t look like Hunnam will be involved in the project.

Despite Hunnam’s absence from the show, fans are still happy to see Sutter working on the Sons of Anarchy universe yet again.

Sutter has been actively working on a spin-off series for the hit franchise and teased fans about a possible prequel.

Hunnam confirmed the reports of a sequel during a recent interview, though he fell short of admitting that he would reprise his role.

While fans are certainly excited about the prequel news, it will be sad if Hunnam doesn’t make some kind of cameo at some point in the series.

After all, he was the main character throughout the show’s seven-year run, and SAMCRO just isn’t the same without him.

Either way, focusing on John Teller and the origins of the biker club is definitely an interesting direction.

Sutter has not announced who might play John in the new series, though some have speculated that Brad Pitt might be up for the part.

FX has not released an official premiere date for Sutter’s new project, though pre-production is expected to start in the near future.

Fans can watch Charlie Hunnam in action when King Arthur: Legend of the Sword hits theaters on March 4, 2017; check out the official trailer below.

[Image by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SiriusXM]