After a brief stint in the 麻豆官网首页入口 kids' soap , Charlie Hunnam came of age in the acclaimed drama series Queer as Folk. He later scored his first Hollywood film in the shape of forgettable thriller "Abandon" opposite Katie Holmes. Now he returns to jolly old England to play the title role in an adaptation of the Charles Dickens' classic "Nicholas Nickleby". But, as Hunnam reveals here, he won't be hanging around for long...
Playing the lead must have been quite a challenge for you. Were you ever overawed by the task?
No, because I didn't go into it thinking that it was my job to carry the film. I was surrounded by such good actors that, had I messed up all of my role, it would still have been a great film, so I didn't feel that responsibility. Of course, it was slightly intimidating - just the prospect of acting opposite such legendary actors as Jim Broadbent and Chris Plummer. I mean, this was only my third film and I think it was Christopher Plummer's 107th, or something.
You hit the jackpot with Queer as Folk. Did you then feel you had to be very careful in choosing your follow-up project?
Well, although Queer as Folk was quite successful, I wasn't exactly inundated with offers. Back then and even now, I just read everything that's sent to me, and pursue the things that I really like. But ultimately I do the work that I can get. It's not like I can pick and choose, I don't get to do whatever I want. In the early part of your career as an actor, you just do the work that you can get. Obviously you don't bother auditioning for the stuff that you don't like - you go after what you want, and the rest is up to fate.
You're living out in Los Angeles now. What's behind that decision?
You know, you just go where life takes you. I just had the opportunity to go and meet some people on the back of Queer as Folk, and met a girl [Katharine Towne] and fell in love and decided to stay. But the way I live my life, I could be anywhere. I don't even leave my house very often - just to go to the grocery store and go out on auditions. And, I don't know the exact numbers, but I imagine that England makes something like ten movies a year and Hollywood probably makes closer to 200 - so there's more work there. And I like the weather! It wasn't a conscious decision to go and move there, it's just that I went and stayed, and stayed a little longer, and I haven't come back yet.
So, what's next for you?
I have a film coming out on Christmas Day - I think it's Christmas Day anyway. It's Anthony Minghella's new film, "Cold Mountain", an American Civil War drama. Hence I'm talking like this [with American accent] because I play an American.