King Arthur: Charlie Hunnam, “We truly respected the essence of history”

On the occasion of the release of the movie King Arthur: The Legend of Excalibur, Charlie Hunnam, who plays the lead role, kindly answered some of our questions.
And here, once again, the famous King Arthur returns to our screens, brandishing his sword Excalibur and ready to take off some tyrannical heads. It is indeed today that leaves on our screens The King Arthur: The Legend of Excalibur, energetic rewriting of the myth that we owe to Guy Ritchie, director among others of the two Sherlock Holmes and Snatch . Charlie Hunnam, seen recently in The Lost City of Z (James Gray), has the heavy task of lending his features to the noble character of Arthur, already many times interpreted in the cinema. And we must admit that if the film itself tends to go a little in all directions, the actor is doing pretty well , Giving flesh to this new fantasy-like version of the king of legend. Then, on the occasion of the arrival of the feature film in our cinemas, the editor of melty had the opportunity to talk with him to ask him some questions about his interest in the role and what ” He thinks of this rather unusual vision of the Arthurian hero!
Why did you absolutely want to play King Arthur? What attracted you to the role?
Because it’s an excellent role! Playing Arthur gives the opportunity to do really exciting things. For me, the role evokes things of life that have always interested me. And it’s always exciting to be able to play a character that explains exactly what we personally care about in life, especially the old terrible conflict between fear and faith, which really interests me a lot and which is At the heart of history. But all this combines with the fact that I am also a huge fan of Guy Ritchie. And I’ve always been a true fan of the Arthurian legend since I was a kid, the story captivated my imagination. So thirty years later, when my favorite director wanted to tackle it and reinvent it, I quickly realized that I wanted to be part of the adventure.
King Arthur as presented in the film is different from the one we know. Are you not afraid that the spectators will be a little confused or that they will not be able to attach themselves to him?
We always have this fear when we make a film, whatever it is, and when we take the responsibility of giving life to a character. I do not really subscribe to the idea that the character is so different, I feel like I’m part of the minority on this and that people are afraid that we will move away from this Which is generally expected of the character of Arthur. As pretentious as it may seem, but failing a better term, I see myself as a student of the narrative process. I have spent most of my life, as an adult but also as a teenager, trying to understand and explore it. And in fact, the story is exactly the same. We truly respected the essence of history. We simply dressed it differently. That’s how I see things. But I thought it was an exciting way to give a new version of a story that is very familiar to us. But at the heart of the Arthurian legend, there is above all the desire to have access to a better version of oneself with all that is inherent in this kind of journey, namely the inevitable conflict between fear And faith. And I think that’s something we’re very familiar with.
At the beginning of the film, Arthur is thinking a little about Jax Teller, from Sons of Anarchy. Who do you think is the worst thug?
The worst thug? I do not think they’re really thugs. I think above all that these two characters are the products of their environment, as we all are, and who in the end show a lot of kindness, although I would not say that they necessarily have noble intentions. I mean, they’re not afraid to fight. But yes, Jax Teller killed more people so I would say he’s the worst thug.