Charlie Hunnam is a ‘germophobe’ who only wants to kiss his girlfriend

67th International Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) - 'The Lost City of Z' - Premiere

Charlie Hunnam’s promotional tours for The Lost City of Z and King Arthur have been pretty educational, right? And by that I mean… I feel like a lot of people have lost their Hunnam crushes. It’s not that he comes across as a total douchebag, it’s just that he seems like he would be a pretty high-maintenance boyfriend, I guess? Or maybe not, since you could go months without seeing him or hearing from him. Still, everything seems all about Charlie and he comes across as very… I don’t know. Not really self-absorbed, but something like that. Anyway, I was reminded of how Charlie is no longer a fantasy boyfriend while I was reading some highlights from his new Elle interview. Tell me if you’re still into him, because I can’t.

He hasn’t seen Fifty Shades of Grey: “I developed a friendship with [director Sam Taylor-Johnson], but that was a somewhat traumatic experience for me. I didn’t want to open that wound.”

He’s a germophobe: The actor also admitted that he’s a “germophobe” and has been “profoundly germophobic” since he was a young child. The actor, who recently said that having sex as often as possible is part of his fitness routine, explained that his fears came from his childhood. Hunnam said he became terrified of germs as a child after he heard about a parasite found on dogs that could cause kids to go blind, Hunnam said that germs still make him uneasy. “Everyone thinks it’s great to be an actor and get to kiss a bunch of beautiful actresses in films, but I actually hate it. I don’t want to kiss anyone but my girlfriend for my whole life.”

[From E! News]

I saw Fifty Shades and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone… unless you’re watching it as a joke, with friends, while drinking. Even then, FSOG isn’t even a good hate-watch. So no, I don’t blame him for not seeing it, even if his reasoning is “I could have played this part!” He would probably even feel worse about it if he watched it, because Jamie Dornan is a charisma vacuum as Christian Grey.

But really, it’s the germophobe thing that struck me. Like, I’m a little bit of a germophobe, but not to this extent. I’ve gotten a little compulsive about hand-washing and showering and the idea of kissing a bunch of strangers is gross to me too, for germy and personal reasons. But again, I have to say… Hunnam comes across poorly, I think. And “I don’t want to kiss anyone but my girlfriend for my whole life.” And even then, he’s perfectly willing to ghost her for months at a time for work. Not fantasy-boyfriend material.

Charlie Hunnam & Morgana McNelis Go For A Walk In NYC

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

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29 Responses to “Charlie Hunnam is a ‘germophobe’ who only wants to kiss his girlfriend”

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  1. Ophelia says:

    His girlfriend’s name is Unilever Johnson?

  2. Londongal; says:

    If the aim of all this press was to destroy all our ladyboners…mission accomplished. More damaging than the vest and great Tiddlesbanging of 2016.

    • DeniseMich says:

      I think the aim was to be himself. He is Charlie Hunnam not the character he played on Sons of Anarchy.

      You want to bone that character.

      Charlie is not quite as personality hot.

  3. ell says:

    i think everyone has their quirks, but they’re not as outspoken as him about it. he seems sincere and not that constructed, although i do find him a bit exhausting and extra. robert pattinson comes across a lot better, and doesn’t seem to take himself quite as seriously.

    i’m not a good judge for this though, because i never really had celebrity fantasy bf/gf among actors. my fantasy partners have always been either fictional characters or musicians (but that’s more because of the music, i usually lose my crush the moment i hear them speaking in an interview… like recent alex turner’s interviews broke my heart sigh).

  4. Vagenius says:

    What’s up with girlfriend’s stance? Is that like a physical problem or simply her employing that annoying pose models use when trying hard to appear ‘quirky?’

    Also, I’ll admit, (though actors like to pretend otherwise) before shooting a scene with kissing, it definitely goes through your mind where the other actor’s mouth has been, and how ‘germy’ said place probably is.

    • L says:

      No. It’s was taken in a split second as she was waiting to cross the street. I’m sure you woukd have ‘weird stances’ if you had paps following you too

  5. Margo S. says:

    I’m thinking thou doth protest to much… he loves his girlfriend so much and yeah, stops talking to her for months at a time, but he’s a germaphobe so hates kissing anyone else so it’s not like he’s cheating you guys! Um….. OK a $$hole.

  6. perplexed says:

    “I don’t want to kiss anyone but my girlfriend for my whole life.”

    I think this comment makes sense, even if you’re not a germaphobe. Some people are built this way.

    • Mia4S says:

      Fine but he’s implying it’s because he’s a germaphobe, not because he’s just so darn in love with her….which if he can ghost her for months is clearly in question.

      I’m not condemning him for being a germapobe, but overall he’s just coming across as really unappealing.

      50 Shades issue was “somewhat traumatic”? What a drama queen. 🙄

      • perplexed says:

        I know what he’s implying. I’m just saying that in either context the revelation doesn’t sound that weird to me. I don’t like germs either so how people just readily kiss strangers has always fascinated me a bit. Maybe I wouldn’t say this in an interview though, even though I’ve said it out loud just now.

        He does sound quirky but maybe he refused media training. I don’t think he comes across as poorly, just unpolished somewhat. He says things out loud that I wouldn’t, but he doesn’t sound particularly malicious either. Since he kisses actresses on film it does seem as though he gets past his fear somewhat. He says that he doesn’t want to do it, not that he’s actually refusing to outright do it.

        The whole ghosting thing sounds odd, but his girlfriend has some agency in choosing to be with him. I haven’t gotten the impression he’s forcing her to be with him.

    • littlemissnaughty says:

      It makes sense and some people are built this way, yes. But is it a good idea to talk about this on a press tour? Because dude, you’re going to kiss another woman on screen in the future. That’s just unnecessarily rude considering she’ll be your colleague. Make her more uncomfortable, why don’t you?

      I don’t know why but he suddenly sounds so exhausting to me. Again with the drama about the “wound” and the “traumatic experience”. My god. Chill!

  7. Lightpurple says:

    He really needs to get over FSOG.

    • original kay says:

      omg yes. what, exactly, was traumatic about it?

      He signed on, then decided not to do it. It was years ago.

      I don’t think traumatic means what he thinks it means.

      • perplexed says:

        I thought there could have been a follow-up question to find out why it was traumatic for him. Maybe there’s some gossip there…

    • detritus says:

      Esp if he hates kissing other people so much. That whole movie was about kissing, and more, another lady.
      Maybe he has germaphobia with Pretty Woman rules. He’s cool with sex scenes as long as there’s no kissing.

  8. Monsi says:

    Someone that is willing to ghost his girlfriend for months for work (vanity, even because it wasn’t strictly necessary for him going so method) is a douchebag

  9. Kata says:

    Eh, I can totally understand the germophobe thing. He could have worded it better, but it’s a real thing. And it can be paralising.

  10. Jayna says:

    I don’t want to kiss anyone but my girlfriend my whole life because I”m disgusted by germs on other people, so kissing them disgusts me. Not, “I adore my girlfriend and want a lasting future with her because I love her.” LOL

    • Stoked says:

      My bs senses are tingling. My view is that he must have fouled up recently. Whenever they overdo and overplay the my forever gf or wife bit, you know it. Over compensating much:)

  11. Lillian says:

    Think it’s time for journalists to stop asking about FSOG. They’ve already filmed the last film so time to move on.
    I wonder what was so traumatic though? EL James, maybe?
    I’ve never read anything negative about Charlie. People say he’s great with his fans and nice guy on set.

  12. boredblond says:

    The heading should’ve been ‘wants to kiss only his gf’..when I read it I thought the two do nothing more, hehehe

  13. cindy says:

    I don’t think he’s a douche…he does come across poorly though. He doesn’t seem to have a great mouth filter and he doesn’t seem to understand that his life is really not hard. Okay, so maybe is is a little douchey…

  14. NeoCleo says:

    Still not getting the appeal of this guy looks-wise. That header photo–total doofus.

  15. Whyme says:

    Have you seen Jamie Dornan doing publicity for the movies? He seems traumatized. I’m sure Charlie hyperventilates every time he thinks that could have been him.

    I don’t know. Aside from the ghosting his girlfriend I don’t see anything wrong with this interview.

  16. third ginger says:

    I know very little about Hunnam, but leaving FSOG was a smart move. Despite all the money made by the first one, it is a possible career killer for Dornan.

  17. Chelly says:

    Probably the minority on this but I haven’t lost my crush on him at all. I’m one who loves my space. A few weeks w/o talking or seeing my bf is good for me. Never did months at a time but I don’t think it’d bother me too much. Idk, I think it’s fine especially if it’s for work & it’s your process. It could be considered selfish if the other person feels uncomfortable or uneasy about it but hey, she may be just like me or has become used to it at this point so it doesn’t bother her anymore the way it may bother others. As far as the germs, I’ve never envied actors whove had to kiss multiple people (as gorgeous as they might be). I’ve read about this person’s breath, & that person’s overly saliva build up, etc. Doesn’t sound fun. For germy reasons…everyone has something that makes them cringe

  18. Riley says:

    I still have a crush on him, but I know it’s better left a fantasy. There were some Sons of Anarchy sex scenes with him that almost made me slide off the couch, with serious kissing! If he’s being honest, he faked it pretty well

  19. SM says:

    I think the problem may be that he simply is not that bright and he wants to appear smarter and more interesting than he is and then fails each time.

  20. spidey says:

    If he is this germophobe he says he is, why did he even thinking signing up for FSOG?