‘Sons Of Anarchy’ Star Charlie Hunnam Dishes Workout Secrets, While His Longtime Love Dishes On Their Relationship

In preparing for his role as King Arthur in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming epic, Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur, Charlie Hunnam had to work hard to meet the physical demands of his character. In fact, according to Fashion & Style, the Sons of Anarchy star had to change up his workout routine in order to look the part of a young and strong Arthur.

With that in mind, Hunnam told Ritchie from the beginning that he planned to “get into incredible shape,” and that he was “going to do 500 push-ups every day” just to get himself ready for the role.

Hunnam’s promises to Ritchie came after the director was hesitant to cast him for role. Apparently, Hunnam’s physique was a little slimmer than Ritchie wanted following his role as Jax Teller on Sons of Anarchy. Ritchie was looking for a bulkier version of Arthur, and wasn’t sure that Hunnam could deliver.

In fact, Hunnam was in contention with Henry Cavill and Jai Courtney for the part of Arthur, both of whom were not lacking in the bulk department. After Ritchie kept bringing up Hunnam’s slim figure in their talks about the role, Hunnam finally got fed up with it and offered Ritchie a compromise.

“Look, dude, you keep bring this up, the physicality. It’s obviously your primary concern. So if you want to do away with all this auditioning bollocks, I’ll fight those other two dudes… I know who they are. You can bring them both in here. I’ll fight them both. The one who walks out the door gets the job.”

Following this conversation, Hunnam landed the role and has been working hard ever since. In fact, in order to get his body ready for the part, Hunnam modeled his workouts after Conor McGregor, the Ultimate Fighting Champion in the featherweight division.

While Hunnam was busy bulking up for his role in Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur, he was also preparing for his part in Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming gothic romance, Crimson Peak. In contrast to bulking up for King Arthur role, Charlie Hunnam needed to slim down for his part as Dr. Alan McMichael, an ophthalmologist from New York.

In regards to Hunnam’s workout for the Crimson Peak character, Kate Hawley, the costume designer for the film, told InStyle that Hunnam had to really switch up his exercise regimen in order to fit into the period.

“Men of that era are slimmer and less built up than men today, so he had to reshape his body slightly to make it more authentic to the period,” she stated in the interview. “He wasn’t doing modern workouts with a lot of heavy weightlifting. He did different physical moves to reshape himself so he didn’t come in with that V-shape torso.”

Meanwhile, as Hunnam is clearly enjoying a bounty of success following the end of Sons of Anarchy, his longtime girlfriend, Morgana McNelis, recently discussed how the two have managed to keep their relationship healthy despite Hunnam’s busy schedule.

“I think the key to maintaining a good balance is creating a safe space within the relationship for both partners in which to grow and evolve,” she told Taylor Magazine.

“It’s very important to be present and participate in each other’s experiences so that falling in love doesn’t happen just once, it continues to happen over and over.”

While fans will have to wait a little while longer to see Hunnam star in Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur, fans can see plenty of the Sons of Anarchy star as Crimson Peak is currently in theaters everywhere.

Tell us! Are you looking forward to seeing if all of Charlie Hunnam’s hard work paid off in Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur in the summer of 2016? Let us know in the comments below.

[Image via Legendary Pictures]