Charlie Hunnam

A good-looking, young, blond British actor, Charlie Hunnam was best known for his portrayal of Nathan, a gay teen, on the controversial British series "Queer as Folk" but reached an American audience with work on more accessible television fare. Discovered while goofing off in a shoe store in his native Newcastle, Hunnam was quickly cast on the BBC series "Byker Grove", playing a long-locked model with a recurring role. From here he was cast on the BBC teen series "Microsoap" and then landed the co-starring role on Channel 4's "Queer as Folk" (1999). Hunnam brought Nathan from shy, curious innocent to an increasingly self-aware and determined man about town in the initial eight episodes of the controversial series about gay life and reprised the role in the two-hour sequel "Queer as Folk 2" (2000). As Nathan, Hunnam played such an integral role in the groundbreaking series that he became something of a role model for gay youth. The influence of the series was so far-reaching that the young actor was asked to participate in a parliamentary debate about the discriminatory British age of consent laws.

In 2000, Hunnam made his US television debut with a recurring role on the teen drama "Young Americans" on The WB. From here he landed a regular role on the Fox sitcom "Undeclared" (2001-2002), a college-set series created by Judd Apatow of the critically acclaimed but short-lived series "Freaks and Geeks". The charm of "Undeclared,” like its series predecessor, was in the details and the fully-formed characters. Hunnam's Lloyd, a theater major with an eye for the ladies, was a surprisingly atypical character. The actor's fresh-faced charm and confident swagger lent Lloyd a believable edge while the writing helped to elevate the series and its primaries above typical teen stereotypes.

Hunnam made his first leap to film in 1999 with a role as a rock singer in the British comedy "Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?" (released in the US in 2001). He made his US feature debut opposite Katie Holmes in the thriller "Abandon" (2002) and finished the year starring in the feature drama based on the Charles Dickens' novel "Nicholas Nickleby,” in which he played the resourceful 19th century lad whose comfortable life is suddenly upended after the tragic death of his father leaves him and the rest of his family penniless, and at the mercy of his wicked Uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer). He made the most of his limited screen time in “Cold Mountain” (2003), playing a member of the Home Guard, a group of Civil War marauders who find and kill deserters for cash. In the ultra-violent sports drama, “Green Street Hooligan” (2005), he played a charming and dangerous English thug who takes an American (Elijah Woods) expelled from Harvard under his wing and teaches him the finer points of football (not soccer) hooliganism.