Charlie Hunnam has recalled an “awkward” meeting with Star Wars creator George Lucas when he was being considered to play Anakin Skywalker.
The part eventually went to Hayden Christensen, who played the villainous character in the 2002 prequel film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and its 2005 follow-up Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
Hunnam, who can currently be seen in the Star Wars-inspired space drama Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, was asked by Entertainment Tonight whether it was true he had auditioned for the role.
“That is true,” the 43-year-old actor replied. “Goodness. I had forgotten that until you said that, but yes, I did. Years and years ago, I met George Lucas.”
Asked what else he remembered about the audition process, Hunnam added: “I got to the point where I was meeting George Lucas, you know? I don’t think he meets a lot of actors. I think there was probably two, maybe two to three actors they were considering.
“I don’t remember much about it. I remember that I was nervous, and I was a little bit awkward. I just remember walking out and thinking, ‘Well, I’m definitely not getting that role.’ And I was correct!”
Charlie Hunnam attends the premiere of ‘Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire’ in Hollywood on 13 December 2023— (Michael Tran/AFP via Getty Images)
Hunnam rose to fame playing the lead role of Jax Teller in the FX biker series Sons of Anarchy, which ran from 2008 to 2014. He has since had leading movie roles in The Lost City of Z (2016) and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) and starred in the Apple TV+ series Shantaram (2022).
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, directed by Zack Snyder, has so far garnered mixed reactions.
In a one-star review for The Independent, film critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote: “With Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, Zack Snyder promised a more ‘mature’ take on Star Wars. Unfortunately, it’s more ‘Star Wars for people who think those movies are too political and don’t feature enough sexual violence.’
“The director’s two-part Netflix epic (Part Two: The Scargiver will release in April of next year) stems directly from an old pitch made to Kathleen Kennedy back when she was the co-chair of Lucasfilm, shortly before it was acquired by Disney. It’s a film populated by some of the Zack Snyder’s Justice League filmmaker’s worst impulses: a mess of imagery, some of it attempting to shock, congregated largely around the idea of what might look good in a trailer.”
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is in select cinemas now and on Netflix from 21 December.
