As FX's "Sons of Anarchy" comes to an end, actor Charlie Hunnam says the feeling is bittersweet and that it's time for him to move on to other projects.
Last Saturday night marked the end of FX's hit show "Sons of Anarchy", when the entire cast gathered in Hollywood for the final season premier. Actor Charlie Hunnam gets emotional and speaks to The Sydney Morning Herald about how he feels about the show ending after seven years.
"It's bittersweet. The sweet side of it is that this has really dictated the whole rhythm of my life for the last seven years. I'm excited to get back to more of a gypsy way of life than the regimented routine that I've gotten used to but it's been one of the greatest experiences of my life," he told the website. "So it's sad to say goodbye to all these guys and obviously say goodbye to the character. I loved playing this guy. I'm sure there's going to be a moment of depression and having to re-explore identity and stuff coming out of this but I think it's time. It feels like it's time."
The actor will next be seen in Crimson Peak and recently signed on to play King Arthur in Guy Ritchie's upcoming film.
"I've been a big fan of Ritchie's work from the very beginning," Hunnam told The Hollywood Reporter. "It feels like an exciting palate cleanser to go back to England and work with an English dialect again and just do something totally different."
Ever since it was announced that E.L. James had agreed to make a movie adaptation for her kinky novel "Fifty Shades of Grey", Many actors and actresses were rumored to play lead roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in the film. For months, Matt Bomer and Ian Somerhalder remained fans' favorites to play the male protagonist in the film while Alexis Bledel and Michelle Trachtenberg were the hot potentials for the role of Anastasia Steele.
Much to everyone's disappointment, James announced earlier in September that Hunnam and Dakota Johnson have been roped in to play the lead roles in the film. Fans voiced their anger and disappointment through Twitter and even started a petition demanding a re-cast and forcing both stars to reconsider their decision to be a part of the film. A few weeks after making the announcement, it was reported that Hunnam had opted out of the film and many media reports reasoned that it was due to the negative reaction he got from fans for bagging the role. However, in a recent interview with Moviefone, the actor revealed the real reason for backing out of the film.
"I was going to finish Sons at like 11pm Friday night, get on the plane Saturday morning to Vancouver for Fifty, missing the whole first week of rehearsal and start shooting Monday morning," he said in the interview. "And I was going to shoot that film, wrap that on the Wednesday, and the following Monday I was going to start shooting Crimson Peak in Toronto. I just had like... frankly, something of a nervous breakdown."
He insisted that he really wanted to play the part - even more so after meeting director Sam Taylor-Johnson. However, he soon realized he has bitten off more that he could chew.
"I started talking about this thing and I just got so excited. I fell in love with the character and started seeing him and becoming intoxicated, which is the way I work: I find a character I love and I start thinking about it all the time," he continued. "To fail on such a grand scale - because Fifty's going to be massive, it's going to be huge. I really didn't want to fail on such a grand scale and I just couldn't transition from Jax Teller to Christian Grey in 48 hours. I bit off more than I could chew and it was painful. I loved the character and I wanted to do it."
The protagonists' roles are now being played by Johnson and Jamie Dornan. The movie is slated to release sometime next year.
