Based on a partly-fictional 936 page novel by Gregory David Roberts that spans continents, heroin addiction and arms smuggling for mujahideen freedom fighters, Shantaram has been a hot Hollywood property since its publication in 2003. Warner Bros splashed out $2m for the film rights, with Johnny Depp set to star as Lin, an Australian bank robber who breaks out of prison and flees to India. But that didn\u2019t materialise, with Hunnam watching from the sidelines as others attempted to bring his dream project to life for two decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was always clear why this was an impossible task to adapt for film,\u201d he says of the attempts to squeeze the expansive narrative into just two hours. But then streaming disrupted the film and TV industry as we once knew it, with enormous corporations such as Apple (who has funded the first season to the tune of $100m) wanting in on the entertainment boom.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the shifting industry economics that eventually made it possible to make Shantaram, Hunnam says: \u201cIt\u2019s such an odyssey and in a film-centric world, I don\u2019t think it was possible. By the time we nabbed the rights, we were in the golden age of television.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/Shantaram-Charlie-Hunnam-5e1cc9b.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Hunnam describes himself as an actor willing to give himself over entirely to his director and loves nothing more than immersing himself in the inner lives of his characters. \u201cI was possessed by this material,\u201d he says of Lin, who has seen hell but remains hopeful. Due to a COVID-enforced shutdown and a change in showrunner as a result of creative differences between Eric Singer and Apple, Hunnam was given the time and space to interrogate how he wanted to approach the character.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had this very powerful conviction that he needed to be a regular guy who had made a mistake that was going to dictate the next decade of his life,\u201d he says. \u201cIn the beginning, I wanted him to be stripped down and naked. There were others who wanted to bring elements from later in the novel to earlier in the show, but I rejected that violently because it felt right to me to go on a journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunnam remains committed to his vision for Lin but isn\u2019t so sure it will work for everyone: \u201cWhether or not my conviction was right, I don\u2019t know. But it was right for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/charlie-hunnam-0d750f2.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>The level of involvement Hunnam has had in Shantaram is something he\u2019s been pursuing since SoA ended eight years ago. When the crime drama, which was part biker soap opera, part Shakespearean tragedy, concluded its seven-season run in 2014, it was as one of the most-watched shows on cable TV, with Hunnam, the heartthrob, irresistible bad boy, prepped for movie stardom. But with a film career that has had mixed returns commercially, the shadow of SoA looms large.<\/p>\n
During our interview, he accidentally calls his Shantaram character Jax, and one of the first images Apple released of Shantaram was of Hunnam sitting atop a bike, a move Hunnam calls \u201ccheeky\u201d given that he rides it for about 30 seconds in total. His affection for the series burns as bright as ever. Just a few days before we speak, he attended a Q&A with the rest of the cast, and he\u2019s also set to attend Liverpool Comic Con next month with a number of his SoA co-stars.<\/p>\n
The fan conventions also give him time to reflect on past experiences, something that\u2019s not always easy in an industry that\u2019s always thinking about what\u2019s next. Like SoA creator Kurt Sutter and co-star Ron Perlman, Hunnam confesses that shooting the testosterone-filled Sons, with its brooding characters and weighty themes, did not always make for the most relaxed working environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was always an element of conflict,\u201d he acknowledges. \u201cIt was between everyone, it was inherent. But that was a bit of the magic of that show.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s candid about his behaviour all those years ago: \u201cI\u2019m not fully proud of my conduct through those years and I know Ron wasn\u2019t either, but looking back it was a golden period. I had a beautiful time with Ron last weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/charlie-hunnam-ron-perlman-55a01b7.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>In the years since, Hunnam has been selective about the projects he\u2019s signed up for, collaborating with directors James Gray, Guillermo del Toro and Guy Ritchie, auteurs who all share his fervour for great cinema. \u201cIf James Gray did not make movies, he would die because telling stories is intrinsic to who he is,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Gray\u2019s The Lost City of Z is widely regarded as Hunnam\u2019s best work, an opinion he also shares, but nobody saw the film. Del Toro\u2019s Pacific Rim also underperformed, Ritchie\u2019s King Arthur bombed and Jungleland, a gritty boxing drama, was a casualty of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Hunnam isn\u2019t daft. Cash is king in Hollywood and those films didn\u2019t make much of it, but he doesn\u2019t have any regrets. \u201cI try to divorce myself from the end result as much as possible. It can be an afterthought because I\u2019ve already gone through the experience and what will be will be when it goes out into the world. But The Lost City of Z was the exception to that rule because I love James with all my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the thought fades, Hunnam adds: \u201cI would have loved more people to have seen King Arthur, we had all these dreams of telling the Arthurian legend, but it didn\u2019t manifest.\u201d<\/p>\n
As our short time together draws to a close, he makes a surprising confession: \u201cI\u2019m pivoting away \u2013 very seriously \u2013 into being a full-time writer.\u201d A little known fact about the 42-year-old film theory graduate is that he has been writing his entire life. During his time in Hollywood, he has penned and sold a number of spec scripts which span a range of subjects, from Vlad the Impaler to Gypsy culture in Britain and a biopic about drug lord Edgar Valdez Villarreal AKA La Barbie, none of which have made it to screen. But that hasn\u2019t discouraged him.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s he working on now? A comedy. Though best known for his dramatic work, it was Judd Apatow\u2019s sitcom Undeclared which gave him his US break, and it\u2019s an area he has found himself drawn back to. \u201cComedy is an area I really enjoy and feel comfortable in, but it\u2019s still been a surprise that there\u2019s a strong comedy element to everything I\u2019ve been writing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before we part, Hunnam backtracks ever so slightly on his retirement from acting in favour of pursuing the pen full time: \u201cI still want to act. I just want to be generating my own material.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hunnam faithful can all breathe a sigh of relief.<\/p>
Shantaram is available to stream now on Apple TV+<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 <\/strong>you can<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>sign up to Apple TV Plus here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/strong>Visit our<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Drama<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>hub for more news, interviews and features, or find something to watch now with our<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>TV Guide<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n By Sam Moore Published: Friday, 14 October 2022 at 12:00 am Nearly 25 years after his groundbreaking debut in Queer as Folk, Charlie Hunnam\u2019s zeal for stories that seek to understand the human condition hasn\u2019t wavered. He\u2019s here to talk about his new series Shantaram, an Apple TV+ crime epic set in India, which the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":23826,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/charlie-hunnam-im-not-fully-proud-of-my-conduct-through-those-years.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/charlie-hunnam-im-not-fully-proud-of-my-conduct-through-those-years-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/charlie-hunnam-im-not-fully-proud-of-my-conduct-through-those-years-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/charlie-hunnam-im-not-fully-proud-of-my-conduct-through-those-years.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/charlie-hunnam-im-not-fully-proud-of-my-conduct-through-those-years.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/charlie-hunnam-im-not-fully-proud-of-my-conduct-through-those-years.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/charlie-hunnam-im-not-fully-proud-of-my-conduct-through-those-years.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Sam Moore Published: Friday, 14 October 2022 at 12:00 am Nearly 25 years after his groundbreaking debut in Queer as Folk, Charlie Hunnam\u2019s zeal for stories that seek to understand the human condition hasn\u2019t wavered. He\u2019s here to talk about his new series Shantaram, an Apple TV+ crime epic set in India, which the…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/23825"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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