After dealing with ‘significant’ health issues last year, Charlie Hunnam has been hoping for a much healthier 2020.
The former Sons of Anarchy star had to spend the last few months of 2019 in India for the shooting of a new Apple+ show that is based on the novel called “Shantaram.” He had to face a few challenges during the shoot.
During an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show, Hunnam said, “I had a series of pretty significant health issues that, as they went on, seemed like a series of assassination attempts.”
The 39-year-old listed some of his ailments. He said, “I got a lung infection, which turns into a sinus infection, and then I got conjunctivitis in both my eyes, then I got an ear infection, then I got strep throat, then a bacterial gut infection, and then I got bitten by a mosquito and contracted dengue fever.”
“It was kind of confounding, because I kind of pride myself on having impeccable personal hygiene,” Hunnam added. “But I think some of those things are going to sometimes go against you. I think my immune system was too delicate, because I’m too clean. You’ve got to roll around in the mud a little bit.”
Hunnam had a tough time while camping that caused other health issues even before he went to shoot in India. He accidentally disturbed a nest of yellowjackets while searching for firewood, which stung him more than 20 minutes, leaving him sprinting naked to get away from the woods.
He recalled, “Two days later I got very sick, and I spoke to my doctor and he said you probably had so much venom in your system that your body starts to create antibodies to fight the venom, and then if I got stung again because I have those antibodies in my system, I could have a very bad reaction. So I’m supposed to carry an EpiPen but of course, I’m an idiot and I don’t.”
The incident left Hunnam a bit psychotic. He said, “I was worried, because I don’t know the ins and outs of dengue fever. You have it for a period of time, but then the antibodies stay in your body … and I wondered if that mosquito bit me, does that mosquito then contract dengue fever, and then the next person that checks into that hotel… these are the things you gotta ask yourself.”
“These are the things that I stay up late nights worrying about.” Hoping for a much healthier 2020, Hunnam said, “It was a strange year, but we’re in a new decade.”
