Charlie Hunnam says he's heartbroken over not getting to bring Christian Grey to life. The actor, who was originally cast to play the male lead in the highly anticipated feature adaptation of E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey, opened up about his disappointment in having to drop out of the project.
Via Variety, Charlie Hunnam expressed his regret over having to drop out of Fifty Shades of Grey to Life & Style, saying "I felt like I had an interesting take on the character and felt like I could have done a good job of playing Christian Grey, otherwise I wouldn't have taken it in the first place." He went on to say, "When you put the time into something like that and a character comes alive in your mind, it's heartbreaking not to be able to play him."
Fifty Shades of Grey is the first novel in a trilogy of romance novels that tells the story of a young college grad who's swept off her feet by a handsome but troubled billionaire businessman who has an appreciation for the rougher side of sex. Dakota Johnson was cast to play the role of Anastasia Steele in the feature adaptation, which is being directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. And in September of last year, Charlie Hunnam was brought on board to play Christian Grey. A month later, Hunnam had to drop out of the part due to his "immersive TV schedule," which wouldn't allow him to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey. Hunnam is the star of FX's biker drama Sons of Anarchy.
This isn't the first time Hunnam has spoken publicly about not being able to do Fifty Shades, but his latest comments do indicate that he had some ideas in mind as to how he was going to tackle the role, and while he may not have been able to prevent his exit from the film, he does sound regretful that he won't get to present his take on the character.
While Hunnam moves forward toward the final season of Sons of Anarchy, and a role in Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak, Irish actor Jamie Dornan took the role of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey. As it happens, Dornan is also a TV star, playing the sinister Paul Spector in U.K. series The Fall. Fortunately for Dornan, his commitment to the crime drama didn't conflict with Fifty Shades of Grey. The TV show resumed production on its second season not long after Fifty Shades wrapped.
Attendees at CinemaCon got a peek at some footage from Fifty Shades of Grey, but the rest of us are still waiting for a teaser or trailer to be released. Fifty Shades of Grey arrives in theaters February 13, 2015. Here's everything we know so far.
