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Charlie Hunnam Through the Years: From His ‘Sons of Anarchy' Days to Now

Charlie Hunnam got his acting start on a British series titled Byker Grove in the late 1990s after getting discovered on Christmas Eve in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he grew up.

Hunnam recalled "dancing around" a store while trying on sneakers for his brother's gift when "this lady was looking at me," he told Variety in an October 2025 interview.

"So I blew her a kiss, just being the cheeky young man that I was," he added. "It turned out that her name was Elizabeth Binns and she was the production manager for Byker Grove."

Hunnam appeared in other projects - like Queer as FolkiUndeclared and Green Street Hooligans - before nabbing the role of biker king Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy, which he played from 2008 to 2014.

"I would look back at those early episodes and think I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I didn't have a very developed skill set," Hunnam told Variety in a September 2025 cover story. "I feel really proud of seasons 6 and 7, as though my work had finally caught up to the level of my aspiration."

While he kept acting after saying goodbye to Jax, the British star became a household name once again when season 3 of Netflix's Monsters premiered in October 2025 with Hunnam as serial killer Ed Gein.

Keep scrolling to see Hunnam's transformation over the years:

1999 .
1999 . Ron Galella, Ltd. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

1999

Hunnam made his movie debut in Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? after having some TV roles under his belt.

2002 .
2002 . Gregg DeGuire Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

2002

He starred in Nicholas Nickleby alongside Christopher Plummer, Jamie Bell, Anne Hathaway and Alan Cumming.

2003 .
2003 . Jon Kopaloff Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

2003

Hunnam continued his string of films with Cold Mountain.

2005 .
2005 . Thos Robinson Thos Robinson/Getty Images

2005

He appeared in the cult classic Green Street Hooligans about football hooligans in the U.K.

2008 .
2008 . Fotos International Munawar Hosain/Fotos International/Getty Images

2008

The actor made his debut as Jax Teller when Sons of Anarchy premiered on FX.

2010 .
2010 . Barry King Barry King/FilmMagic

2010

As Sons of Anarchy continued, Hunnam's hair became a topic of conversation among viewers. Fans know he's had some dramatic changes in between seasons.

2011 .
2011 . Steven Lawton Steven Lawton/FilmMagic

2011

Hunnam's movie The Ledge premiered.

2012 .
2012 . Albert L. Ortega Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

2012

The actor had a few films this year along with the continuation of Sons of Anarchy. He starred in 3,2,1... Frankie Go Boom and Deadfall.

2014 .
2014 . Earl Gibson III Earl Gibson III/WireImage

2014

Hunnam said goodbye to Jax Teller after seven seasons of Sons of Anarchy.

2017 .
2017 . David M. Benett David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage

2017

The British star bulked up for his role in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

2019 .
2019 . Pablo Cuadra Pablo Cuadra/WireImage

2019

This was a big year for Hunnam, who had several movie roles in A Million Little Pieces, Triple Frontier and The Gentlemen, among others.

2020 .
2020 . Cindy Ord Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

2020

Hunnam sported a new look with longer hair as The Gentlemen press tour continued.

2022 .
2022 . Amy Sussman Amy Sussman/Getty Images

2022

Hunnam appeared in one season of the Apple TV+ series Shantaram.

2025 .
2025 . Santiago Felipe Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

2025

He made his debut as Ed Gein in Monsters season 3 on Netflix.

Paris Hilton, Megan Moroney, Demi Lovato and More! .
Paris Hilton, Megan Moroney, Demi Lovato and More! . Antoine Flament/Getty Images for Isabel Marant

Paris Hilton, Megan Moroney, Demi Lovato and More!

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This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 1:18 PM.

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