King Arthur star Charlie Hunnam says he is happy to get his “kit off” – as long as there is “balance” in the film.
The British actor, 37, has previously shown off his body on-screen and is shirtless in the trailer for Guy Ritchie’s new movie, King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword.
The actor, who withdrew from the lead role in Fifty Shades Of Grey, was not in shape when he auditioned for the swashbuckling role.
“He (Ritchie) was very concerned about it and would bring it up a lot during the audition process,” Hunnam tells The Graham Norton Show.
“I had a eureka moment and the next time Guy brought it up, I said, ‘Do you know what pal, if you are so concerned about my physicality put me in a cage with all the chimpanzees that are auditioning against me and we’ll have a little fight and whoever walks out of the room gets the role’.
“I maintain that was the moment I got the part!”
He tells Friday’s show: “It’s all about balance of spectacle and substance, and if there is balance I am happy to get my kit off.”
Hunnam, who has previously admitted taking a motorbike from his crime drama Sons Of Anarchy, said he tried to steal a sword from the King Arthur film but “was rumbled mid-theft”.
David Beckham has a small role in the movie but his performance has been panned.
“We are sort of mates, our children go to the same school, we drink in the same pub and we go to the same gym, and one thing led to another,” director Ritchie said of his casting.
“I love him, he’s on the same frequency as me and it made sense for him to be in the film.”
:: The Graham Norton Show airs on Friday on BBC1 at 10.35pm.
