Brought to you by Warner Bros.
He was lifting more than just a sword from a rock.
King Arthur may have been a famous warrior but we’re pretty sure that Charlie Hunnam could take him in real life. Hunnam stars in Guy Ritchie’s new film, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and he got properly ripped for the role with a gruelling training regime.
Hunnam and Ritchie discussed the character of King Arthur and they wanted to bring a rawer portrayal of the legendary king to the screen. Their Arthur is a man that’s spoiling for a row, a man with a “feral, street-kid, starving wolf feel” to him.
Hunnam said that getting in peak physical shape helped him to get inside the head of his character and tap into the “confidence that comes from throwing 1000 punches.”
“I felt having the confidence that comes from doing a lot of fight training – it does give one a certain spring in the step and glint in the eye,” he said. “And so I spent a lot of time in the gym just doing fight training.”
Hunnam added 20 pounds of muscle for the role with strength training and put in hours of boxing and sword fighting. He also did hundreds of push-ups every day, saying that his personal record was 1,050 in a single day. We’re wrecked just thinking about it!
Ritchie’s retelling of the famous Arthurian legend certainly doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the fight scenes, as you’d probably expect. It’s a visceral thrill ride that’s packed with epic action sequences.
The film also stars Jude Law, Eric Bana, Djimon Hounsou and our own Aiden Gillen.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is out in cinemas on 19 May.
Brought to you by Warner Bros.
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