Charlie Hunnam vs. Travis Fimmel - Kathryn Knight books

Charlie Hunnam as Jax Teller

Welcome!  This post from 2013 continues to get dozens of daily views even 10 years later, so I made a few updates on these two 🔥 devastatingly hot 🔥 doppelgängers!  If you have a fav or a comment, please drop it at the bottom of the post! 🠋  

I began watching Sons of Anarchy after hearing a lot of buzz about the show on social media platforms.  Loosely inspired by Hamlet, the plot seemed guaranteed to provide plenty of conflict and tension--the stuff authors live on.  As a romance novelist, the complicated relationship between former high school sweethearts Jax Teller, the VP of an outlaw motorcycle gang, and Tara Knowles, the upstanding pediatric doctor, drew me in and kept me hooked.  Many of my books involve a hero and heroine with a painful history who are drawn together again by fate--I love second chances for couples that are "meant to be."  But if I'm honest, a big reason I continued to watch SOA is due to Charlie Hunnam, the amazingly hot actor cast in the role of Jax Teller.

Travis Fimmel 
plays Ragnar Lothbrok

A few weeks decade ago I decided to try Vikings, a show on the history channel, as historical fiction is a favorite genre of mine.  As we were introduced to the main character, my jaw dropped--I thought Charlie Hunnam had moved over to a new series.  I studied the actor playing Ragnar Lothbrok (no great hardship there), and the only difference I could find at first was a scar and the eye and hair color--things that could easily be changed for television.  I did a quick google search to discover this was actually a completely different actor by the name of Travis Fimmel.

side-by-side screen shots

To me, they look like they could be twins.  But they are not related.  Plenty of people see the resemblance though, according to questions on the internet.  So I did a little comparison of these two beautiful men, and it seems they have more in common than just amazing genes and acting talent.






Charlie Hunnam:

• Born April 10, 1980 (33 -- now 43) in England
• 6'1" tall
• discovered clowning around in a shoe shop by a production manager
• starred in the lead role on Sons of Anarchy

Travis Fimmel:

• Born July 15, 1979 (34 almost 44) in Australia
• 6' tall
• discovered working out in a gym by a talent scout for a modeling agency
• starred in the lead role on Vikings

While the two shows are separated by vast differences in time (Sons of Anarchy: present-day California; Vikings: medieval Scandinavia), they involve very similar themes: family, brotherhood, and a strong protagonist who challenges a stubborn leader with new ideas.  Both characters struggle to protect their loved ones while fighting to change the direction of their club/community.  Both characters become brutal killers when necessary.  They are "Bad Boys with Good Hearts"...a mix I personally find hard to resist.  In fact, I made a list of my top 5 fictional characters with these qualities, and it's been my most popular post to date (not anymore!  This one has it beat by miles -- thank you all!).  Vikings hadn't aired when I wrote that one, but Ragnar would be on the list today.  Click the yellow link to see where I ranked Jax Teller!

Thankfully, despite the title of the blog, we don't have to choose one or the other...we viewers can have both.  And if anyone is faced with the real-life dilemma of choosing between these two, all I can say is that would truly be a tough (but enviable) choice!

P.S. More pics on my Pinterest board!  And if you enjoy heroes with a bad-boy streak who'll do anything to protect the women they love, try one of my novels: GULL HARBOR, SILVER LAKE, or DIVINE FALL.  Or all three seven now!  Latest releases are GHOST MOON, THE HAUNTING OF HILLWOOD FARM, DANGEROUS CURRENTS, and HAUNTED SOULS.  You can find the hot men I used as inspiration on the Pinterest storyboards for each title, as well 💕  Thank you for stopping by!

Bad Boys with Good Hearts - Kathryn Knight

Who doesn't love a sexy bad boy with a hidden heart of gold?  It's a common theme in romance novels, TV dramas, and screenplays.  There's just something intoxicating about a hot, dangerous hero whose actions reveal an inner gentle kindness.  Bad boys are often misunderstood, forced into a role chosen for them by circumstances out of their control.  But there is still a very real risk involved in getting close to them--and that's part of the thrill.

Here are my Top Five Favorite Fictional Bad Boys.  While their characters embody the perfect tough guys with redeemable qualities, it doesn't hurt that the actors portraying them are smoking hot!

5.  Anson Mount as Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier working on the country's first transcontinental railroad in the show Hell on Wheels.  Intent on avenging the rape and murder of his wife, his true motive is to discover the identities of the former Union soldiers responsible so he can kill them.

4.  Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, the proficient zombie-killer on The Walking Dead.  Daryl had a traumatic childhood filled with abuse and neglect, and consequently grew into an emotionally-detached loner.  But the post-apocalyptic scenario brings Daryl into the fold of survivors, who value him as a leader and protector, and his character's true compassion begins to emerge.

3.  Josh Holloway as James "Sawyer" Ford, the "anti-hero" of Lost.  Sawyer witnesses the murder-suicide of his parents after they experience financial ruin at the hands of a conman.  Sawyer becomes a conman himself in order to fund his quest for revenge.  On the island, he alienates himself from the other crash survivors with his manipulative, selfish, and sarcastic behavior.  But eventually he falls in love with Kate and begins to show his sensitive side.



2.  Damon Salvatore, the dark older brother on The Vampire Diaries, is brilliantly portrayed by Ian Somerhalder.  A love triangle in the 1800s between Damon, his brother Stefan, and a beautiful vampire begins to tear the two brothers apart...when Stefan turns into a vampire and essentially forces Damon to turn as well, Damon vows to torment Stefan.  However, he always has Stefan's back when outside danger threatens.  When the brothers find themselves in love with the same woman again, Damon fights to be honorable and steer her toward the 'good' brother.  More on Ian here.

1.  Charlie Hunnam is Jax Teller, the President of the outlaw motorcycle club Sons of Anarchy.  Jax's childhood was intertwined with the club: his father founded the club, and his mother married another prominent member when an "accident" left her a widow.  But with the club comes a culture of violence, crime, and blood feuds.  Jax has finally started a family with his first and only love - his high school sweetheart - and he desperately wants to protect his wife and sons from the dangers of his lifestyle.  But he can't remove himself from the club entirely.  If he abandons his father's dream of a group of brothers who live outside the rules of society, not only will the club deteriorate further, but Jax will lose his opportunity to bring his father's murderer to justice. (P.S. - more on Charlie Hunnam and his lookalike, Travis Fimmel of Vikings, here).





Had to include this pic too!

My hero in SILVER LAKE has a bad boy streak as well--despite being kind and caring, he is also protective and strong.  Jason is a 4th degree black belt in Karate...but will that help him keep his first love safe from a desperate ghost?  While I don't have a picture of an actor for Jason, I do have this hot martial arts guy who will serve nicely: 

So that's my list!  Who are your favorite bad boys with good hearts?

PS More pics on my Pinterest Board!