Charlie Hunnam Had COVID-19 'Earlier This Year': 'Lost My Sense of Taste and Smell for About 10 Days'
Charlie Hunnam is opening up about his experience with the novel coronavirus and the possibility that he has contracted the illness a second time.
The Sons of Anarchy star, 40, appeared on Friday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live during which he explained that he was feeling under the weather but was unsure what he was sick with. "I'm not sure what I have. I have a little bit of a persistent fever, a dry cough, a little bit of fatigue, so it could be COVID," he explained.
The actor noted that he tested negative for the virus after receiving a rapid test earlier this week. "So I could be unfairly jumping to conclusions," he said. "But it feels consistent."
Hunnam went on to reveal that he had COVID-19 "earlier this year" and was trying to compare his symptoms then to what he feels now. "It didn’t feel like this," he said, going on to share that his experience with coronavirus "wasn't particularly acute."
RELATED: Celebrities Who Have Tested Positive for Coronavirus
"I just lost my sense of taste and smell for about 10 days and had a little bit of fatigue," he said. "This feels very, very different. This feels much more like flu."
Asked to further explain his coronavirus symptoms, Hunnam said he "literally just couldn't taste anything."
At the time, the actor knew something "wasn't quite right" when he came downstairs to make coffee one morning, he told Kimmel. "I was grinding up the coffee and realized I couldn’t smell at all," he said, adding that his girlfriend, Morgana McNeils, couldn't taste the coffee either.
RELATED: Charlie Hunnam Had ‘Significant Health Issues’ Last Year: ‘My Immune System Was Too Delicate’
Hunnam said since "it was very early on" and loss of taste hadn't "really come to light as a symptom of mild COVID," his next thought was that he and his girlfriend were "simultaneously having a stroke."
The actor said it would be surprising if he tests positive for COVID-19 again as he hasn't left his home in "six months other than to take [his] new cat to the vet."
"Whether I just have a cold or flu or something, the only time I’ve ever been in any sort of contact with the outside world was taking her to the vet," he said. "And it turns out what she has is feline coronavirus."
"This is why we have a strict no cat policy here at the show," Kimmel teased.
Hunnam currently stars in the new drama Jungleland, in which he plays a man seeking a better life with his athlete brother by traveling across the country to attend a potentially life-changing boxing match.
Jungleland opens in select theaters this weekend and hits video on demand platforms on Tuesday.
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from the WHO and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.
