‘Shantaram’ Boss: How Charlie Hunnam’s ‘Emotional Vulnerability’ Helped Him ‘Embody’ Lin (Exclusive)

Charlie Hunnam is returning to tv 8 years after Sons of Anarchy ended for the riveting Apple TV+ series Shantaram, wherever helium plays an Australian fugitive named Lin who flees to India to commencement over. Creator/executive producer Steve Lightfoot praised Charlie’s show portion speaking EXCLUSIVELY to HollywoodLife about Shantaram, which is based on Gregory David Roberts‘ 2003 novel.

“I was a large instrumentality of Charlie’s. I thought helium had done specified a large assortment of work,” Steve told america astir the 42-year-old British actor. “He was really attached to the amusement erstwhile I came onboard. I was a immense instrumentality of the publication myself, and the information that helium was attached was different crushed wherefore I wanted to bash it,” helium added.

Charlie Hunnam successful ‘Shantaram’, premiering October 14 (Photo: Apple TV+)

Steve, who created the 12-episode play triller bid with Eric Warren Singer, explained however Charlie’s divers acting skills helped him nail the relation of Lin. “He’s conscionable a precise talented actor. He’s got this fantastic blend of enactment pugnacious that helium tin deliver, but besides affectional vulnerability erstwhile it’s required that acceptable the Lin quality perfectly,” Steve said. “He’s this feline that is torn betwixt doing bad, brainsick things, and past besides being truly tortured by the after-effects of that and perpetually having to woody with his ain nature. I conscionable thought Charlie embodied that perfectly.”

Charlie Hunnam with Antonia Desplat successful ‘Shantaram’ (Photo: Apple TV+)

In Shantaram, Lin escapes an Australian situation and relocates to Bombay successful the 1980s, but he’s inactive acold from safe. He falls for Karla (Antonia Desplat) and forms a relationship with Prabhu (Shubbham Saraf). The book is told successful a first-person constituent of view, truthful arsenic Steve pointed retired to HL, the Apple series is little “restrictive” erstwhile it comes to exploring the backstories of different characters.

“I deliberation we enactment precise hard to springiness each quality their ain communicative and nary 1 ever conscionable being a broadside footwear to idiosyncratic else’s story,” Steve told us. “We travel stories without the Lin quality successful them.”

Charlie Hunnam and Shubbham Saraf successful ‘Shantaram’ (Photo: Apple TV+)

Steve has precocious hopes that Shantaram will support viewers connected the borderline of their seats, adjacent those who person work the book. “I anticipation they don’t spot what’s coming and they unpeel the layers. I deliberation that’s what’s truthful large astir television. Depth of quality and however overmuch we tin instrumentality the assemblage connected a thrust with someone,” Steve explained. “And I anticipation they conscionable emotion the enactment and standard of the amusement and that satellite we enactment connected there. It’s a satellite I haven’t seen connected tv earlier and I anticipation radical emotion being dropped into it.”

Shantaram premieres its archetypal 3 episodes connected October 14 connected Apple TV+. New episodes volition beryllium released Fridays done December 16.