For most people, a cab ride involves quiet relaxation or phone scrolling. For actor Charlie Hunnam, it became a public showing of his career’s low points, played at full volume by a well-meaning but clueless taxi driver. The Sons of Anarchy star recently shared the painfully funny story on Late Night with Seth Meyers, describing a surreal trip through New York City where he was forced to listen to a video compilation of his biggest professional and personal failures.
The Cringeworthy Cab Ride
Charlie Hunnam described getting into a New York cab where the driver recognized him but couldn’t quite place how. The driver decided to solve the mystery by searching for Hunnam on his phone, which was connected to the taxi’s Bluetooth speakers at full volume.
The specific video the driver chose to play was titled, “What Happened To Charlie Hunnam.” Hunnam recalled the video was a “harrowing, tragic tale of all of my biggest failures, both personally and professionally.” To make the situation more uncomfortable, the driver didn’t turn it off after realizing his passenger was the subject of the video. Instead, he continued playing it while offering sympathetic looks in the rearview mirror.
Hunnam described the experience with a sense of humor, telling the audience, “And he doesn’t turn it off. He just keeps giving me sympathetic looks in the rear-view mirror.” He added that the ride felt incredibly long, with the last thing he hearing as he escaped the taxi being the video narrator discussing “the spectacular box office failure of King Arthur” echoing through the streets.
A Brief Ego Boost, Quickly Dashed
After the awkward taxi ride, Hunnam’s luck seemed to change. Almost immediately after stepping onto the curb, another person approached him, this time an enthusiastic fan. The fan was excited to see him and asked for a photo, which lifted Hunnam’s spirits after the strange cab experience.
However, the moment was short-lived. As the fan walked away, he shouted, “I loved you in Robin Hood!” Hunnam explained to Seth Meyers and the audience that he was not in the movie Robin Hood. He realized the fan had mistaken him for Taron Egerton, the star of Rocketman who indeed played the lead in the 2018 film Robin Hood. The case of mistaken identity added another layer of comedy to his already strange night.
The Uncomfortable Side of Fame in the Digital Age
Hunnam’s story highlights a modern reality for public figures: the internet never forgets, and fans have instant access to a curated, and often critical, version of a celebrity’s life. In the age of YouTube compilations and social media, a celebrity’s successes and failures are permanently available for public consumption.
The cab ride became a metaphor for the lack of control celebrities can have over their own public image. Instead of interacting with Hunnam directly, the driver engaged with a digital, objectified version of the actor—a “compilation of failures” rather than the person sitting in his back seat. Hunnam handled the situation with patience and self-deprecating humor, laughing at the absurdity of the moment rather than showing frustration.
Charlie Hunnam’s Career and the “Failures”
While the video focused on his setbacks, Charlie Hunnam has a significant body of successful work. He is best known for his leading role as Jax Teller on the hit FX series Sons of Anarchy, which ran for seven seasons. He has also starred in major films like Pacific Rim and The Lost City of Z.
The mention of the King Arthur: Legend of the Sword box office performance in the cab driver’s video is a known career moment for Hunnam. The 2017 film, directed by Guy Ritchie, was a big-budget project that underperformed financially. By joking about it on national television, Hunnam showed he can confront public criticism without taking himself too seriously.
His ability to laugh at the situation with Seth Meyers demonstrated a down-to-earth personality that resonates with fans. He did not present the story as a complaint but as a funny, if cringe-worthy, anecdote that anyone could relate to on some level.
Why the Story Connected with People
The story quickly attracted attention because it combines a universally understood feeling—awkwardness—with the unusual circumstances of fame. Everyone has experienced an uncomfortable silence or a moment of unintended embarrassment. While most people will never know what it’s like to have a stranger play a video of their life failures, the feeling of cringe is familiar.
Hunnam’s telling of the story made him seem relatable and human, breaking down the barrier between a Hollywood star and the average person. Fans know him for playing tough, charismatic characters, but this story showed a different side—one who sits passively in the back of a cab, just trying to survive an awkward social situation.
“And the video he chooses to watch is titled, ‘What Happened To Charlie Hunnam,’ and it’s this harrowing, tragic tale of all of my biggest failures, both personally and professionally, and he doesn’t turn it off, he just keeps giving me sympathetic looks in the rear-view mirror.”
His current work includes portraying serial killer Ed Gein in the Netflix film Monster: The Ed Gein Story. His appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers was part of promoting this new project, but the cab story became the standout moment from the interview, showcasing his skill as an engaging and humorous storyteller.
