the series of shantaram It’s based on a story of the same name, but it was a joy ride for Hunnam to get to this production. “I read the book 7 years ago and I became obsessed with it so I could take it to the screen. I know that others wanted to do it in the movies before, Johnny Depp, for example,” said Lin’s interpreter in the series.
“The truth is that the book is a very vast thing, with an incredible narrative and exuberant settings, I thought at the time: this cannot be adapted to happen in two hours,” recalled the Briton, while reflecting on how people have tried to bring to the screen in the last 10 years.
Hunnam had been looking for it to take place for three years and when he found out that Apple TV + would do it, he applied to be part of the cast and his surprise was being the protagonist of this version of shantaram.
“Apple TV + began to produce it 4 years ago and it was fascinating to be able to fall into this production, in addition to the fact that we are living in a golden age of television with great bets, stories and the interest in recreating these realities,” said Hunnam.
Making the adaptation of a popular book that managed to sell 7 million copies globally, this is a double-edged sword, since beyond the normal criticism of the industry there are millions of readers who may or may not agree with what took place and Hunnam is well aware of this.
“It’s terrifying to think of an adaptation. What I have learned in my career if any director like Alfonso Cuarón, Spielberg, Scorsese, each of them will have a very different vision of what a work like shantaram” comments the British actor. “Although despite the criticism and the visions of the series, it is a sacrifice that you have to make to carry out a film or series that you love,” he said.
Shantaram is a popular book that managed to sell 7 million copies globally
“Lin” might seem like a collection of all the bad decisions a young person can make, but also with the strength and will to have their own personal story, and in that sense there is something that Charlie Hunnam shares with the main character.
“No doubt Lin is a person who faces many things, but for me it represents autonomy, freedom and having a space to manifest from evil to the divine in a very personal sense; that is what excites me a lot about this experimentation in life from the literary point of view as it is offered shantaram“The actor commented excitedly from a location in Los Angeles.
This series is a very choral composition, where each of the characters has a game and gives a value to each scene, so the filming was a heroic event, as Hunnam recalls.
“We were in full isolation due to Covid and since the series requires many locations, shots and sequences, we had to record everything that corresponded to a location at all times in the story and thus to be able to move,” says the actor regarding the process of produce this story.
“The cast was together even when they didn’t have to work, they were three very hard months. It was like putting together a puzzle at the end,” he said.