Charlie Hunnam spent days faking excuses to return to the 'Sons of Anarchy' set after filming ended.

Charlie Hunnam

Charlie Hunnam

The 37-year-old actor admitted it was very "emotional" for him to have to say goodbye to his biker alter ego Jackson Teller when the series drew to a close after seven seasons so kept prolonging the "personal process" of closing the door on that chapter of his life.

He said: "It was actually quite emotional for me, living and loving that guy for eight years, to have finally put him to bed.

"I found myself going back to set a lot. I knew the security guards and for a couple of days said, 'Oh I forgot something' so they'd let me onto the set, and I'd just walk around at night because I wanted to be in that environment and go through a personal process of saying goodbye.

"After a couple of nights I didn't really need the alibi to get in, and then after a while I just said, 'OK, enough, this is done.' "

While the 'King Arthur: Legend of the Sword' actor was born and raised in Newcastle, North East England, he admits he has "gone a bit Californian" in terms of looking after his diet and fitness since he moved to Los Angeles some time ago.

He said: "Enormous emphasis is put on nutrition and healthy lifestyle there.

"I never spent much time or energy thinking about nutrition and health when I was in the north of England."

Over three years ago, Charlie had to pull out of playing Christian Grey in the 'Fifty Shades' franchise because of a schedule clash with 'Crimson Peak' but he insists he never thinks about where he might be in his career if he'd kept the role, which eventually went to Jamie Dornan.

He told Britain's Glamour magazine: "Honestly, I never really think about it.

"I find the process of having to constantly make career decisions really daunting and anxiety-inducing, so I try to be very studied and specific in the process of doing it.

"Then once they're made, I try not to waste any time looking back."