Press Archive > Magazine Article > Heat - March

Cock O'The North

Millions of Queer As Folk viewers have now seen Charlie Hunnam's pert nether regions being probed by a bloke nearly twice his age. He tells Boyd Hilton what it was like..

When you first got the script did you have any qualms about playing Nathan, a 15-year-old boy who has an affair with a 30-year-old guy? 
My agent warned me that the programme would be quite controversial, that it would require nudity and I was like, "Yeah... and?" So she said, "Well, if that's your attitude that's fine but we just don't want you to be shocked by the content..." But I wasnm't about to turn it down because it's such a great part. 

Did you find the sex scenes difficult to do? 
When we started filming I wasn't relishing getting my kit off in front of the crew, but the director was really sensitive and insisted on a closed set for the sex scenes. There was just the camera man, the sound man, Aiden (who plays Stuart) and myself, though people did keep coming in to spray us with water and spread Vaseline all over the place. 

Were you shocked when you first sat down and saw yourself in some pretty uncompromising positions? 
When I got the tapes and watched them for the first time by myself, I was kind of shocked but not in a bad way. They're not gratuitous or in poor taste in any way, but I was slightly surprised. They look pretty real, don't they? 

So real that the Daily Mail said it was like a "live sex show". 
Yeah, the Mail was horrendous of course, but at least they're admitting how good the acting was. 

Was your mum happy to see her son naked in front of millions of people? 
Well, my mum reas the scripts as well and thought they were fantastic so she knew what to expect. The only thing she didn't like was when I used the c-word. But that was my fault; in the original scrpt I had the line: "You're friends with a twat" but "twat" didn't really work for me so I asked if I could say "cunt" instead. 

Which was much better. In fact your character seems to be getting stronger and cockier... 
I had a few scenes after I'd first had sex with Stuart where I went through moments of angst and self-doubt, but they were cut out. And I liked the fact that Nathan turns out to be quite a ballsy character. I want to play the aggressive, cocky sickos rather than the passive, boring people. 

Are you tempted to get a record contract and become an official pretty boy teen heart-throb? 
Oh god, no! I could never do that. I'd like to do films and performances that will change people's opinions of things... quirky, low-budget stuff. Queer As Folk is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to get into; controversial and passionate drama, I'm just proud to be part of it.