Charlie Hunnam only had 10 days to prepare for ‘The Lost City of Z’.
The 36-year-old actor had just wrapped on ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ – in which he plays the titular character – and was "filled with panic" as he rushed to get into his ‘Lost City of Z’ character.
He said: "King Arthur was incredibly demanding: I was in almost every scene and shooting long hours. By the time we finished shooting, I only had ten days before I started shooting this [‘The Lost City of Z’]. I was filled with panic. I used every second of that time to try and transform myself psychologically and physically because I was muscle bound and in action hero mode.
"I went through this very rapid process of losing weight [approximately 60lbs in nine weeks]. I wanted to fill myself up with [Percy] Fawcett, I had been slowly and quietly researching. One of the things he admired most as a human characteristic was authenticity, and so it was important for me to put a level of myself into playing him, as much as honouring who I thought he was. I fell in love with Fawcett and felt a responsibility to do him justice."
And Hunnam admits there was a "real distance" between himself and his co-star Robert Pattinson and he was initially worried if he liked him or not.
He added to ScreenDaily.com: "I had a couple of rehearsal sessions with Sienna [Miller], but I didn’t spend any time with Tom [Holland] or Robert [Pattinson]. I wanted these relationships to evolve naturally on screen. Through the work, I don’t think I said more than ten words to Robert off camera.
"I didn’t know if he was just ‘in that zone’ or if he genuinely didn’t like me. There was a real distance between us. But it creates the right dynamic on screen. He’s reached out to me subsequently, making overtures for us to be friends now, so I think it was about the work."
Charlie Hunnam’s panicked preparation
