“Sons of Anarchy” star Charlie Hunnam shocked Hollywood when he unexpectedly withdrew from next year’s “Fifty Shades of Grey” adaptation on Saturday.
“The filmmakers of ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ and Charlie Hunnam have agreed to find another male lead given Hunnam’s immersive TV schedule which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey,” a statement from Universal Pictures and Focus Features claimed.
The casting of both Hunnam and former co-star Dakota Johnson, surprised and angered fans when it was announced in September. Neither actor’s name had come up during the incessant dream-casting that occurred on message boards and social media as soon as the film was announced.
Just as unexpected as the casting, though, is the fact that Hunnam would turn down the lead role in one of next year’s most rabidly anticipated films.
Despite Hunnam and the studio’s explanation, few are buying that the actor’s television commitments are why he left the project, and rumors have circulated wildly since the announcement.
“Charlie Hunnam was never going to do ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’” an insider told Us Weekly. “He told his agents from the beginning he didn’t want to do it and was going to pull out.”
There’s also a belief among some Hollywood insiders that the Australian actor got cold feet about what the added scrutiny of the role would mean for his life.
“More than anything he hates attention and being in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ would force him to do lots of media,” a source told E! News. “That’s really not his thing. Charlie doesn’t want to be massively famous. Plus, he hates conforming and being told what to do. This role would force him to have to be something he is not.”
Even if fans weren’t pleased with his casting, Hunnam had already started to feel the after-effects of being attached to the mega-popular S&M novels. At the season premiere of “Sons of Anarchy,” in September, Universal hired extra security to keep their leading man safe.
Proving their anonymous sources were not the same, one of Us Weekly’s ‘insiders’ countered, saying that the side benefits of the role wasn’t what scared the actor off.
“Charlie is very true to his craft and something like the media circus is not going to deter him from taking a role. That said, The project wasn’t appearing to shape up as expected. There is no bad blood.”
That fear of how the final product would turn out was echoed by a source who talked to Hollywood Life.
“He wanted to get out of the movie because he was feeling like it would be his version of ‘Showgirls’ and he didn’t want to be remembered for that,” a source told the gossip site.
Whatever the real reason may be, one thing that seems certain is that the filmmakers aren’t thrilled about having to recast the role.
“I know the filmmakers and Universal are not happy,” a source told Us Weekly.
Regardless, the studios will now have to find another actor to star alongside Johnson.
Last month novelist and Twitter provocateur Bret Easton Ellis claimed that Robert Pattinson – star of the “Twilight” movies, the source material of which was the impetus for the “Fifty Shades” books – was writer E.L. James’s “first choice” to play the character. While fans have long campaigned for the role to go to either Ian Somerhalder and Matt Bomer.
“Fifty Shades of Grey” is scheduled to hit theaters on August 1, 2014.
