Charlie Hunnam On Dropping Out Of 50 Shades, No Regrets<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fair to say that British actor Charlie Hunnam<\/a> is almost just as renowned for walking away from the role of Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie series as he is for his actual performances, with the star reaching a global audience for his lead role as Jax Teller in the hit TV series Sons of Anarchy<\/a>.<\/p>\n After playing Jax for just over six years, Sons came to an end in 2014 \u2014 and Charlie found himself at a fork in the road in terms of his career. In 2013, it was announced that Charlie had been cast to play Christian Grey in the upcoming movie adaptation of the bestselling Fifty Shades of Grey book series. The suave billionaire with a love of BDSM was undeniably a far cry from Charlie\u2019s previous roles, and many were left surprised by the casting decision.<\/p>\n But before filming began, Charlie dropped out of the project, citing scheduling conflicts. In a statement released by Universal<\/a>, the team behind the movie said that, along with Charlie, they\u2019d \u201cagreed to find another male lead given Hunnam\u2019s immersive TV schedule, which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie didn\u2019t discuss his decision until a 2015 interview with V Man magazine<\/a>, where he reiterated how busy his work schedule was at the time. He explained that he was still working on the final season of Sons, and had signed on to Guillermo del Toro\u2019s movie Crimson Peak as well \u2014 giving Guillermo his word that he\u2019d do it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the worst professional experience of my life. It was the most emotionally destructive and difficult thing I\u2019ve ever had to deal with professionally,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI\u2019m pretty mercurial and a very difficult, long-winded decision-maker at the best of times. It was deeply unpleasant and challenging emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie added that he was even \u201chaving panic attacks about the whole thing,\u201d explaining: \u201cI really, really pride myself on being a professional and a man of keeping my word. It means a lot to me, truly.\u201d<\/p>\n And just last year, Charlie confessed that he still hadn\u2019t watched the Fifty Shades movies as he made light of the huge commercial success<\/a> he missed out on. For what it\u2019s worth, the franchise brought in a combined total of more than $1 billion<\/a> at the box office.<\/p>\n Asked by a TMZ reporter<\/a> how the decision to drop out of the movies worked out for him in the long run, the actor quipped: \u201cI\u2019m not nearly as rich as I would\u2019ve been.\u201d<\/p>\n But despite that, Charlie has now admitted that he does not regret his decision, as he confessed that he simply wasn\u2019t thinking straight when he accepted the role. In an interview with Variety<\/a>, the star explained that he always tries to balance commercial and passion projects, and cited 2013\u2019s Pacific Rim as an example of a commercial project.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was a great opportunity to work with a director that I really like,\u201d Charlie said of the Guillermo del Toro film. \u201cI couldn\u2019t care less about giant robots fighting giant monsters. I read the script, and I had no emotional experience with it at all.\u201d He added that it was the first time he made a film he wouldn\u2019t rush to watch in movie theaters himself, but he took it because he felt like he owed it to his team \u2014 and it was two months after Pacific Rim\u2019s release that his Fifty Shades casting was announced.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wasn\u2019t thinking clearly,\u201d Charlie said of taking the job in the first place, insisting that once he walked away he \u201cnever looked back.\u201d He concluded: \u201cNo regrets at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie also revealed that he recently bumped into the franchise\u2019s lead actor Dakota at a social event, saying: \u201cShe gave me a bit of a hard time about it in a very fun way.\u201d<\/p>\n