Charlie Hunnam has spent his career falling down and getting back up, and now he’s asking everyone else to do the same. The actor delivered a quote about resilience to Collider in 2013, and it has become today’s Quote of the Day.
“Everybody, at some point in their life, has fallen down and not felt like getting back up, but you have to, no matter how difficult it is. That’s something that’s pretty easily relatable to audiences, I hope,” Hunnam said, speaking about his role in Pacific Rim alongside Guillermo del Toro.
From Queer As Folk to Sons of Anarchy
Hunnam first found fame on British television in 1999, landing his first notable role in the groundbreaking LGBTQ+ drama Queer As Folk on Channel 4. His career then took a sharp turn toward action and comedy, with appearances in the soccer hooligan movie Green Street and the period comedy Nicholas Nickleby.
But it was his portrayal of Jax Teller, the tortured heir to a criminal motorbike gang, in Sons of Anarchy that arguably made him best known. The FX show remains one of the network’s best series ever made.
Ed Gein and the Lizzie Borden Story
More recently, Hunnam made headlines for playing real-life serial killer Ed Gein in Ryan Murphy’s Monster series on Netflix. Now he’s returning for Murphy’s next chapter, The Lizzie Borden Story, which premieres Thursday, September 17.
The quote comes at a moment when Hunnam’s career has had its share of hits and misses. Both King Arthur and The Lost City of Z underperformed at the box office, creating what Hunnam described as a “difficult hurdle” to overcome.
What the Quote Actually Means
Hunnam’s words are simple: everyone stumbles, and staying down gets you nowhere. The actor knows this from personal experience. He told The Talks that reconciling the anticipation of what those two films could have been with what they ended up being was “quite a big fight.”
The quote also carries a note of compassion. It recognizes that bad days, weeks, or even whole years happen to everyone. But admitting defeat is not an option, according to Hunnam.
Dusting yourself off and moving forward is the better path, even if it feels awful at the time. Wallowing in life’s woes forever will get you nowhere. Whether you’re dealing with rejection, grief, or heartbreak, getting back up will help make you more resilient.
Defeat can teach us how to cope with difficult situations, making these sorts of challenges important learning experiences.
More Quotes From Hunnam
The actor has a history of offering thoughtful commentary on life, success, and failure. Here are a few more quotes from his interviews:
- “I always think that the ability to fight and defend oneself is a skill that every man should have but endeavor never to use, you know?” — from a 2013 interview with GQ
- “I do try not to dwell on the past too much because I have a tendency to do that, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten very good at distancing myself from shoulda, woulda, coulda.” — from a 2015 interview with Entertainment Weekly (via Daily Mail)
- “Freedom is an illusion and kind of fleeting. I experience moments in my life where I feel very free and moments where I feel completely beholden to the rhythms of my life and the responsibilities that I have and my mind. And that is just a framing thing. It’s just perspective. But one certainly has to fight to get that perspective.” — from a 2018 interview with The Talks
- “I feel like we all have one or two innate talents, and a task of life is to identify those and then do that as much as you possibly can. Because that’s where the joy and the presence is going to come from. That’s where the grace is going to come from.” — from a 2020 interview with GQ
Hunnam’s quote lands with particular force because his own career has included two flops and a turn as a serial killer. He is now promoting a new Netflix chapter about a notorious murderess, and the quote offers a message of perseverance that applies to anyone watching.
It is a rousing message from an actor who has learned firsthand that getting back up is often the hardest part.
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