Charlie Hunnam Offered To Fight Rivals During King Arthur Audition

Things almost got a bit tasty during Charlie Hunnam’s audition for Guy Ritchie’s reboot of the Knights of the Round table myth, ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’.

According to an interview with the ‘Sons of Anarchy’ star in Empire, the ‘Lock, Stock…’ helmsman was pushing Hunnam’s buttons about being physically in shape for the potential role.

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Meanwhile, Hunnam was also aware that both Michael Fassbender and Henry Cavill were both also reading for the role.

“I said, ‘You know what? F**king stop the camera,’” said Hunnam.

“I’m starting to lose my temper. I know those other pricks you’ve got reading for this role. If you bring them in right now, I’ll fucking fight them both at once for the role, and we’ll see what’s up with the physicality.’

“Guy said, ‘F**king hell, alright – calm down, mate.’”

Obviously his commitment to the role – not to mention the offer of duffing up his rivals – convinced Ritchie he had the right man for the job in the 36-year-old actor.

Judging by the trailer, which was unveiled at Comic-Con in July, Ritchie’s is, perhaps predictably, a somewhat unorthodox take on the King Arthur story, with a splash of magic and some overt ‘Game of Thrones’ vibes (not to mention some of its actors).

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

Starring Hunnam alongside Jude Law, Eric Bana, Aiden Gillen, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, Michael McElhatton, Djimon Hounsou and Neil Maskell (as well as a cameo from David Beckham), the movie is due out on March 24 next year.

Image credits: AP/Warner Bros