Now Let's Listen To What Charlie Has To Say

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Over at EW they caught up with one of my favorite hot pieces Charlie Hunnam and asked him what's the deal with this Vlad script he sold. Apparently it's a realistic take on Vlad the Impaler and has no vampire nothings in it. He says it's sorta Gladiator-esque (only, you know, hopefully good). The director coming on board, some video guy named Anthony Mandler, got the project a green-light by showing off some 300-esque test footage, whatever that means (Vlad in leather diapers?). Charlie flaunts all the historical research he did, telling us a bunch of Vlad's life, and then when asked about casting he says this:

EW: Who do you envision as Vlad?

Hunnam: As I was writing it, I vacillated between thinking about myself playing the role as a fantasy [laughs], and Colin Farrell and Christian Bale. Particularly Farrell. There’s something very roguish and bad boy about Vlad, and I know Colin a little bit, and I think he has some of the characteristics that would be essential for playing this guy. I love Ryan Gosling, I think he’s just incredible, but I never really thought he would be 100 percent right. The thing about Vlad is, he wasn’t a conventional ruler. When he took his throne back after his father had been murdered, he did that using a contingent of gypsies, murderers, and thieves that he found in the forest; he didn’t hire mercenaries. He had a real affinity for the darker side of society. I think he felt like he was an outcast, too, in a lot of ways. I think Farrell would be fantastic.

EW: Having watched you on Sons of Anarchy, Vlad sounds perfect for you.

Hunnam: Listen, it would be a dream come true for me to play this role. But I’ve had my heart-broken so many times that I’m not kidding myself that there’s any real potential. There’s a reality to making this type of film and how much it costs, and I’m just not a big enough name to justify that type of budget right now.

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