I’d be surprised if they didn’t end up going with a relative unknown to play Christian Grey in “Fifty Shades of Grey” after Charlie Hunnam abruptly headed for the exit.
For starters, sought-after actors are generally booked months, if not years, in advance. Sometimes one becomes available on short notice if a film is canceled at the last minute, but generally A-list male stars under such circumstances have their choice of projects that are less risky than “Fifty Shades.”
And even some B-listers may balk at the producers’ reported insistence that applicants do a screen test to demonstrate chemistry with their Anastasia Steele, the relatively obscure Dakota Johnson. Meryl Streep she ain’t.
Hunnam cited conflicts with his TV schedule for dropping out of “Fifty Shades.” You’d think that would have been worked out long before now in his case. But finding the time is likely going to be an issue for any TV series actor the producers might sign with a looming start date for the movie.
Not to mention that any actor who signs on will face months of the kind of Twitter ridicule Hunnam briefly endured — and the prospect of eternal embarrassment if “Fifty Shades’’ turns out more like “Dreamgirls” than “9 ½ Weeks.”
On the other hand, I hear Charlie Sheen may be available.