Hunt was born in Goslar, Lower Saxony. After spending his first season at SV Werder Bremen in the reserves the year the first team achieved the double, he made his Bundesliga debut on 18 September 2004, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 home win against Hannover 96. On his first appearance in the starting line-up, against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 12 February 2005, he scored his first goal, becoming the club's youngest-ever goalscorer at the age of 18 years and 161 days. Early in 2006, Hunt suffered a mysterious knee injury, which after some months was found to be bursitis. As a result, he missed the remainder of the season following the winter break. In November, he renewed his contract until 2010 and, on 3 March 2007, netted a hat-trick in the 3–0 league victory over VfL Bochum; he finished that campaign with nine goals, and his team eventually ranked third behind VfB Stuttgart and FC Schalke 04. Hunt scored a career-best 11 goals in 2012–13, but Werder could only finish in 14th place. In March 2014, after being awarded a penalty during a match against 1. FC Nürnberg, he successfully asked the referee to reverse his decision, because the opposition player had not touched him.
On 31 August 2015, having already played the two first matches of the new season with Wolfsburg, Hunt joined Hamburger SV. He finished his first year at Volksparkstadion with one goal in 21 matches, scoring four goals from 26 games overall during the following campaign. Hunt appeared in 30 matches across all competitions in 2017–18, netting three times as the club was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time in its history. In the ensuing off-season, he was made new team captain after stripping Gōtoku Sakai of that role.
International career
Having a German father and an English mother, Hunt was eligible to play for both Germany or England. His mother's family all hailed from the London area, and his grandfather went to the same north-east school as Bobby Charlton. However, Hunt stated that he would only play for his birth nation. When asked which team he would represent at international level, he said he was '... honoured about this. But I have decided to play for Germany....', adding that he was steadfast on his decision. In October 2006, Hunt appeared for the German under-21s in a 0–1 loss against England in Coventry for the 2007 UEFA European Championshipqualification playoff. On 6 November 2009, he was called up to the full side for two friendlies with Chile and Ivory Coast to be held during that month, making his debut in the latter after coming on late in the game for Bastian Schweinsteiger. In November 2006, Hunt was charged by UEFA for serious unsporting behaviour, after complaints of racist remarks in the second leg of the under-21 playoff against England. He was banned for two games but, following an appeal, the decision was reversed.
