Why Fifty Shades Of Grey Recast Its Original Christian Grey Actor With Jamie Dornan

Summary

• Jamie Dornan’s role in Fifty Shades of Grey launched his acting career, with the film becoming a cultural phenomenon in 2015.
• Charlie Hunnam was originally cast as Christian Grey, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, leading to Dornan replacing him.
• Dornan’s critical acclaim in The Fall helped him secure the role, despite initially feeling relieved when Hunnam got the part.

Jamie Dornan was nearly not in Fifty Shades of Grey, the film that essentially launched his acting career. The popular film adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same name by E.L. James was initially released in theaters on February 13, 2015 and struck a chord in the cultural zeitgeist, becoming one of the most profitable and talked about movies of that year. The film, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Back to Black, Hunters), gave an international spotlight to both Fanning and Johnson, who were at the time still rising leads. Fifty Shades of Grey still holds a career-best record for both of its stars, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.

Dornan skyrocketed to fame with the release of Fifty Shades of Grey, starring alongside Johnson in the two franchise sequels, Fifty Shades Darker (2017) and Fifty Shades Freed (2018). Fifty Shades of Grey earned just under $570 million at the worldwide box office, becoming the eleventh highest-grossing movie of 2015, which was topped by Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens’ $2.07 billion box office gross. Dornan’s highest-grossing films outside the Fifty Shades film trilogy are Robin Hood (2018), which earned $85 million worldwide, and A Haunting in Venice (2023), which grossed just under $114 million.

Charlie Hunnam Was Originally Cast As Christian Grey In Fifty Shades Of Grey

Hunnam stepped away from the project in 2013

Charlie Hunnam, best known for his leading role as Jax in Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014), was originally slated to play Christian Grey alongside Johnson in Fifty Shades of Grey. The announcement was made in 2013 but Hunnam regrettably had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts. It was only a matter of weeks before Hunnam exited the project that Dornan was cast in his place. Hunnam is also known for starring in blockbuster films such as Pacific Rim (2013) and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). He recently appeared as Kai in Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire.

It’s difficult to predict how starring in Fifty Shades of Grey would have affected Hunnam’s career, but it would also have been the highest grossing movie in his filmography, with Pacific Rim grossing a total of $411 million worldwide. If Hunnam had signed on for the full Fifty Shades trilogy, it would have prevented him from starring in Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak (2015), James Gray’s The Lost City of Z (2017), Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017), and Papillon (2018) alongside Rami Malek. If Hunnam has signed don for the Fifty Shades trilogy, it also might have conflicted with Ritchie’s 2019 action film The Gentlemen, which is one of Hunnam’s most celebrated projects.

Why Charlie Hunnam Dropped Out Of The Fifty Shades Of Grey Movie Franchise

Hunnam had already signed on to Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak

Hunnam has spoken out about his decision to leave the celebrated Fifty Shades franchise before it ever really began. According to Variety, Hunnam looked back with an air of regret but had already committed to star in Crimson Peak. “Oh, it was the worst professional experience of my life. It was the most emotionally destructive and difficult thing that I’ve ever had to deal with professionally. It was heartbreaking. I’d given Guillermo my word, over a year before, that I was going to do this film.” Hunnam’s loyalty to del Toro’s project, which only earned roughly $75 million at the worldwide box office, ended up being the main reason why he missed out on a potentially career-defining role.

While the Fifty Shades trilogy is undeniably popular, all three films received poor reviews from critics, while Crimson Peak and The Lost City of Z earned positive Rotten Tomatoes scores of 73% and 86%, respectively. Hunnam further explained, “People were saying, ‘Are you crazy? Guillermo still has got four months to recast, it’s the fourth lead, you can go and do this [instead].’ I said, ‘I can’t. He’s my friend, I’ve done a film with him, I gave him my word.‘ “I really, really pride myself on being a professional and a man of keeping my word. It means a lot to me, truly.”

Why Jamie Dornan Was Chosen To Replace Charlie Hunnam As Christian Grey

Dornan was riding on the critical acclaim of The Fall

Dornan and Hunnam were the last two actors standing when director Sam Taylor-Johnson and the Fifty Shades production team ultimately went with Hunnam. Like Hunnam, Dornan has been waiting to hear back about the project and was reportedly even relieved when the news first broke that Hunnam had gotten the part over him. In an interview with British GQ, Dornan revealed “‘I felt a certain amount of relief when he got it, to be honest. I thought, “This would have been fun, but it would have been a strange ride. Better not to be on that ride.” He had also just come off the celebrated series The Fall, which garnered him a lot of momentum going into Fifty Shades of Grey.

Sources: Variety, British GQ