charlie hunnam2 © Photo: Getty Images

Guy Ritchie releases first photo of Charlie Hunnam as King Arthur

March 12, 2015

Guy Ritchie has given fans a sneak-peak into life on set with Charlie Hunnam. The director posted a photo on Twitter of the handsome actor dressed as King Arthur – the lead role he will be playing in the upcoming Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur.

"First day on KORT," Guy captioned the snap.

The British director was pictured wrapped up in a thick coat, grey jumper and a woollen beanie as he stood next to the leading man of the moment Charlie.

Charlie Hunnam will play King Arthur in the new six-part film series

Posing against a backdrop of the soft morning sunlight, Charlie had fans swooning with his hint of a half-smile. The Sons of Anarchy star oozed confidence, looking perfectly at home on set and dressed in his full medieval garb.

Charlie, 34, will play the historic ruler in the new King Arthur series, which will be made up of six instalments. The first film will be released in July 2016 and star Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as Queen Guinevere.

Another big name that has been confirmed to feature is Australian hunk Eric Bana, who will take on the role of King Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon.

© Photo: Getty Images

Charlie Hunnam was previously scheduled to take on the lead role in Fifty Shades of Grey

Last year it was reported that Guy wanted Jamie Dornan to play King Arthur in his new film. At the time Jamie was already committed to his role of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey – a role that Charlie had incidentally turned down.

Charlie originally took up the offer to play Christian in 2013 but later backed out after suffering "a nervous breakdown". Speaking to Moviefone, the screenwriter said: "I wouldn't have signed up in the first place if I didn't want to do it. It was a really, really difficult time in my life."

© Photo: Getty Images

The Sons of Anarchy star admitted that he turned down the role after suffering "a nervous breakdown"

Charlie explained that his hectic filming schedule included working on Sons of Anarchy and Crimson Peak.

"I just had like... Frankly, something of a nervous breakdown. I just said, 'I can't... I can't," he added. "To fail on such a grand scale – because Fifty's going to be massive, it's going to be huge. I really didn't want to fail on such a grand scale and I just couldn't transition from Jax Teller (his Sons of Anarchy character) to Christian Grey in 48 hours. I bit off more than I could chew and it was painful."

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