Monster Star Charlie Hunnam Took Ed Gein Role On One Condition From His Girlfriend

Charlie Hunnam just played Ed Gein for Netflix, and the way he handled the headspace of that job is very couple-goals in a slightly spooky way. His longtime partner, Morgana McNelis, has one clear rule for him when he takes on heavy roles, and he stuck to it. Also, yes, he literally drove to Ed Gein's grave to decompress. We will get to that.

The rule at home

Hunnam and McNelis have been together since 2005. At some point, he came home from a job feeling, as he put it, like a bit of a shell. That did not fly. So she laid down a boundary that he says he still follows.

So, she said to me, probably about 10 years ago, 'Here’s the rules of engagement: Go do your work. Be as selfish as you need to be, but then take some time, because when you get back, you better be ready to see me.' Which is completely fair and really lovely.

- via E! Online

Translation: dive as deep as you need to for the role, but do not bring that energy home. Hit pause, reset, then come back as a functioning human being. Honestly, more actors should have this.

Monster Season 3 was a lot, so he made it a ritual

Netflix just rolled out Monster Season 3, a.k.a. Monster: The Ed Gein Story, with Hunnam in the lead. Gein was convicted of murdering two women, and the part is about as psychologically gnarly as it sounds. After shooting, Hunnam followed the house rule: he took time to decompress before reuniting with McNelis.

His method this time was on the nose but, apparently, helpful. He was in Chicago, Gein is buried in Wisconsin, so he drove up to the gravesite and sat with it for a while. Morbid? Sure. But for him, it was a way to close the book on the character.

Why Morgana backed it anyway

McNelis was not just tolerant of the gig; she encouraged it. She is big on psychoanalysis and the idea of shadow work, which is basically facing the darker parts of yourself and the world instead of avoiding them. Hunnam says she framed it like this:

My partner had incredible conviction that this was an important thing to do. She’s a great fan of the psychoanalysts, so she understands shadow work and the value of staring into the abyss and confronting the darkness much more than I do. So she was an amazing support to me, saying, 'You just got to go do this thing, you got to enter the cave and face the dragon.'

To get there, he also spent time on the why of Gein’s crimes, not just the what, so he could actually inhabit the guy instead of playing a headline.

• Now streaming: Monster: The Ed Gein Story (Monster Season 3) on Netflix
• Star: Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein
• Support system: Hunnam and Morgana McNelis have been together since 2005
• The rule: decompress after the job, then come home ready to be present
• Context: Gein was convicted of murdering two women