Charlie Hunnam has revealed that it was “a nervous breakdown” that really led to his departure from the upcoming adaptation of the best-selling E.L. James novel Fifty Shades of Grey.
Charlie Hunnam, who would have played Christian Grey opposite Dakota Johnson’s Anastasia Steele, told Moviefone that the Focus Features drama would have been one project too many, since he already committed to shooting Guillermo de Toro’s Crimson Peak during his hiatus from FX series Sons of Anarchy.
“I was going to finish <<Sons>> at like 11 p.m. Friday night, get on the plane Saturday morning to Vancouver for <<Fifty>>, missing the whole first week of rehearsal and start shooting Monday morning,” the actor explained.
Charlie Hunnam has revealed that it was a nervous breakdown that really led to his departure from the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation
“And I was going to shoot that film, wrap that on the Wednesday and the following Monday I was going to start shooting <<Crimson Peak>> in Toronto. I just had like … frankly, something of a nervous breakdown.”
The passionate response from fans and the attention the media was giving Fifty Shades also contributed to his decision to back out of the role just weeks after being cast.
“To fail on such a grand scale – because Fifty’s going to be massive, it’s going to be huge. I really didn’t want to fail on such a grand scale and I just couldn’t transition from Jax Teller to Christian Grey in 48 hours,” Charlie Hunnam said.
“I bit off more than I could chew and it was painful. I loved the character and I wanted to do it.”
Charlie Hunnam has returned to the small screen as biker Jax Teller on September 9 when the seventh and final season of Sons of Anarchy premiered on FX.
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Charlie Hunnam has pulled out of the film adaptation of bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey.
It was announced in September that Charlie Hunnam would play billionaire Christian Grey.
Universal Pictures said that his departure was a mutual decision due to a scheduling problem with Charlie Hunnam’s TV commitments.
Fifty Shades of Grey‘s author E.L. James tweeted her best wishes to the actor.
Charlie Hunnam has pulled out of the film adaptation of bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey
Artist and film-maker Sam Taylor-Johnson will direct the movie version of E.L. James’ novel, scheduled for release in August 2014.
Published in 2011, Fifty Shades of Grey follows the relationship between billionaire Christian Grey and college student Anastasia Steele.
Dakota Johnson will play Anastasia Steele and Jennifer Ehle has been cast as her mother.
The novel and its two sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, have become a literary phenomenon that earned E.L. James, 50, a reported $95 million last year.
There had been intense speculation over who would win the coveted lead roles in the film adaptation.
Since winning the role there have been reports that Charlie Hunnam had been overwhelmed by the attention and had got cold feet.
However, the statement from Universal Pictures said Charlie Hunnam’s departure was due to “Hunnam’s immersive TV schedule which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey.”
Matt Bomer, Cilian Murphy, Ian Somerhalder and Alexander Skarsgard are among the actors being tipped as Charlie Hunnam’s replacement.
Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson will take on the roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, respectively, in the anticipated big-screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey novel.
The news was tweeted by novel author E.L. James on Monday morning: “Good moaning all. Hold on to your hats…”
Dakota Johnson, 23, previously appeared in The Social Network – in which she shared a love scene with Justin Timberlake – and had small roles in 21 Jump Street, The Five-Year Engagement and Beastly.
Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson will take on the roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, respectively, in the anticipated big-screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey novel
She is the daughter of Don Johnson, best known for TV shows Miami Vice and Nash Bridges, and his actress ex-wife Melanie Griffith.
It’s thought producers cast Dakota Johnson because they wanted a young, up-and-coming actress to play the role of Anastasia Steele.
Charlie Hunnam, who is 33 years old and British, stars in the dark biker thriller Sons Of Anarchy as Jackson “Jax” Teller and also appeared in Guillermo del Toro’s robot epic Pacific Rim.
The castings close waves of rumors about who would take on the roles – Emma Watson, Imogen Poots, Armie Hammer and Ian Somerhalder, among many others, were at one time tied to a main role on the film.
The film will be directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy), based off the adapted script by Kelly Marcel (Terra Nova).
Fifty Shades Of Grey is currently slated for release in August 2014.
