Charlie Hunnam goes from motorbikes to monsters in Guillermo del Toro's 'Pacific Rim'

Charlie Hunnam probably won't have this beard for his starring role in "Pacific Rim."

Credit: AP Photo

Charlie Hunnam is finally getting his shot at the big time.  The 31-year-old actor is best known to most Americans for his role on FX's acclaimed series "Sons of Anarchy," but he's tried to break into the movie business ever since he first got noticed in the original British incarnation of "Queer as Folk."  From "Nicholas Nickleby" to "Green Street Hooligans," the silver screen hasn't been kind to Hunnam, but now he'll have Guillermo del Toro's talent to guide him in the new Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.' tentpole "Pacific Rim."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the monster movie will find aliens attacking the coastal cities of the Pacific Ocean.  The world decides the best way to combat these "monsters" is to develop giant robots - possibly piloted by men and women - to destroy them.  Humman is rumored to be playing one of those pilots.

Hunnam will be seen next alongside Liv Tyler and Patrick Wilson in the indie "The Ledge" which premiered to scathing reviews at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

The project has ramped up quickly because del Toro's previous project, "At the Mountains of Madness," was put into turnaround. Shooting on "Rim" is expected to begin this fall.