Courtesy of Frank Micelotta/Invision for FX/AP ImagesJax Teller is a guy who can take care of himself when things get messy—as they so often do on Sons of Anarchy.
But Charlie Hunnam has to stay fit for more than SAMCRO these days. And, you know, he doesn't actually run with an entire gang of ready-to-rumble types in real life.
Most of the time, anyway!
Apparently wanting the Fifty Shades of Grey star to stay in pristine condition as production nears on the hotly anticipated adaptation of E.L. James' best-selling novel, Universal Pictures arranged for extra security for its leading man at the red-carpet premiere of Sons of Anarchy last week.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio paid the tab for the additional muscle. Universal had no comment on the report. (E! Online and Universal Pictures are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)
So there will be no roughing up Hunnam until the cameras start rolling!
Asked at the premiere how he's getting prepared to play S&M fetishist Christian Grey opposite Dakota Johnson's Anastasia Steele, the British actor smiled and told E! News, "I spent a lifetime preparing myself for that."
After smelling salts had been utilized, we rebounded and pressed him to continue.
"It's incredibly exciting. He's a very complex and fascinating character and I just feel really excited and delighted to be entrusted with the job of bringing him to life and its a big responsibility," Hunnam said.
"He's a beloved character and millions and millions of people—I think 75 million copies of this book or something have been sold—so he's obviously a very well-loved character and it's a big responsibility to take it on but I didn't do it lightly. I did a lot of research and I did a lot of thinking about it and feel confident that I have a way to bring him to life that will be fun and exciting and honest."
As for the onscreen nudity and sexual content (to put it in MPAA terms), he shrugged and said, "It's just part of the job."