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Charlie Hunnam Allegedly Couldn't Handle 'Fifty Shades' Attention
Charlie Hunnam, the star of FX's Sons of Anarchy, suddenly dropped out of the much-anticipated film adaptation of "mommy porn" bestseller, Fifty Shades of Grey, yesterday. While Universal Pictures claimed "Hunnam's immersive TV schedule which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey," some outlets are calling BS on that.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, "Two sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Hunnam, 33, was overwhelmed with the attention he received from being cast in the movie and got cold feet about carrying such a high-profile project. Universal was forced to hire bodyguards for the actor at a recent Sons of Anarchy premiere, where questions about Fifty Shades dominated the red carpet. The sources caution that Hunnam had no reservation about the role of Christian Grey, just the media and fan frenzy that came along with it, especially as he was transitioning from Sons to Fifty Shades so quickly."
Deadline's Mike Fleming opines, "[A]ll of this scheduling stuff had already been figured out before he made the deal to star with Dakota Johnson. It seems more likely that Hunnam had time to think about it, and decided the role didn’t fit him like that Sons leather jacket he wears. There is a lot of nudity in the film, and calls for the kind of things that might make a veteran actor like Hunnam uncomfortable. Or maybe he watched as the Twilight Saga leads turned into celebrities and didn’t want that." That sounds like a decent theory—who wants to have to issue public apologies for canoodling?
Hunnam and Johnson apparently tested very well together. Fifty Shades author E.L. James, who is involved in the film (which starts filming next month), Tweeted yesterday:
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