‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Latest Update: Charlie Hunnam Recalls ‘Painful’ Decision to Quit the Erotica Movie
Charlie Hunnam, who was initially casted as the lead actor in "Fifty Shades of Grey," talked about his decision to depart from the erotica movie based of off E.L. James's 2011 bestseller with the same title.
"It was very, very painful for me, that whole process, just very unpleasant," Hunnam told Entertainment Weekly. "I felt like I let myself down. I let those people down on Fifty Shades that I'd grown to really love and respect. It's just a really unpleasant period of time for me."
Hunnam, who was filming the final season of FX's "Sons of Anarchy" at the time, decided to give up the role as billionaire businessman and sexual dominant, Christian Grey, due to scheduling conflicts. Shortly after he departed from the project, fans expressed their disappointment all over the Internet.
"For the first time in my life, [I] had more work than I had time to do it. It's very hard to be disciplined in that situation and understand what is going to be required to all of that work to the best of your ability and have yourself surrounded by people," Hunnam, who had also signed on to Guillermo del Toro's horror movie, "Crimson Peak," explained. "You see it all the time in Hollywood. There's a tendency to make hay while the sun shines and to capitalize on every second once somebody gets hot and people just get burnt out. That's what I started to do."
The role as Grey later went to Jamie Dornan, who starred opposite Dakota Johnson (Anastasia Steele). "Fifty Shades of Grey" follows the love story of Grey and Steele after he introduces her into the world of BDSM. The movie received bad reviews before its release date but still opened big. It has grossed nearly $570 million worldwide.
Hunnam can be seen in the upcoming Guy Ritchie film, "Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur," which is slated to be released in 2016. Meanwhile, the second installment to the "Fifty Shades" franchise, "Fifty Shades Darker," will be coming out in 2017.
