Charlie Hunnam

Since 2007, he is reported to have been in a romantic relationship with jewellery designer Morgana McNelis

Charlie Hunnam was born to William ‘Billy’ Hunnam and Jane. While his father was a gangster and scrap metal merchant, his mother was occupied as a gift shop runner. He was the second biological son of the couple and had two younger step-brothers.

His parents separated when he was two. Initially settled in Newcastle upon Tyne, he received his formal education from Heaton Manor School. After his mother remarried and shifted base to Melmerby, Cumbria, he went along with her and admitted himself to the Elizabeth Grammar School.

Since he was expelled from school, he gave his exams from home, passing which he enrolled at the Cumbria College of Art and Design. He graduated from the same with a degree in theory and history of film.

It was while he was goofing inside a shoe store on Christmas Eve that he was spotted by a production manager of the Newcastle-based children’s show, Byker Grove. Eventually, the latter handed over to him his first stint at acting, which included playing the character of Jason for three episodes in ‘Byker Grove’. He was ten years old then.

Following his startling debut, he did not get into mainstream acting until he was eighteen. With the help of an agent, he got himself a role in the British-made teen series, ‘Microsoap’.

It was his spectacular performance in ‘Microsoap’ that helped him bag a major role in Channel 4 drama ‘Queer as Folk’, which revolved around a homosexual teenage life. In the series, he portrayed the role of a fifteen year old boy, Nathan Maloney.

The role of Nathan Maloney proved to be a turning point in his career. He beautifully administered the challenging task of turning the character from being a shy, introvert and innocent chap to a cocky, know-it-all gay, so much so that he became a role model for the gay youth. The show was largely appreciated and recorded highest ratings of that time.

Following the ground-breaking ratings, he reprised his role of Nathan Maloney for the two hour sequel of the drama, ‘Queer as Folk 2’. He next made a big screen debut starring as Daz in the film ‘Whatever happened to Harold Smith?’ released in 1999.

He was cast to play the role of a ‘stoner’ in the small independent film ‘Anderson Cross’ but could not play due to scheduling conflicts. Interestingly, Director Jerome instead of offering his role to anyone else, cut the part out of the script completely saying ‘No one replaces him’.