The dad who inspired a star

KING Arthur star Charlie Hunnam says he still channels his “gangster” father to play toughguy movie roles.

The actor, 37, described his late dad Billy as an inspiration throughout his life – both on and off screen.

Describing him as having a “gangster vibe”, Hunnam told the Daily Mirror: “My dad was the toughest, most savage dude I’ve ever met.

“I feel like I’ve been playing him a lot in my career.”

Newcastle-born Hunnam lost his father, a former scrap metal merchant, after a battle with cancer in 2013.

His stepmother Sylvia told the paper: “Charlie was devastated when we lost him [Billy] so suddenly.

“Charlie had Billy on a pedestal. Perhaps as a young man you like a father figure to be a strong person and Charlie saw him as that – a man who could look after everyone and just sort things.”

Hunnam spoke of his father in the lead-up to the release of Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword, in which he plays the legendary ruler.

He is also known for his roles in The Lost City Of Z, Sons Of Anarchy, Pacific Rim and Children Of Men.

Hunnam told how he first began “channelling his father” by taking up martial arts to protect himself after starting at Ullswater Community College in Penrith, Cumbria, in his earlier years.

“They hated me from the second I got there,” he said.

Sylvia, who was married to Billy for 27 years, said her late husband would enjoy being referred to as a gangster, but added: “At home, around me and the boys, he was a perfect gentleman.”