When we first reported (rather blush-inducingly, it seems) that Charlie Hunnam had dropped out of the 50 Shades Of Grey movie, we chalked it up to him being emotionally unavailable to slip into the “sketchy masturbatory construct” that is Christian Grey. Hunnam leaned heavily on the old “scheduling conflict” excuse, even though production on Sons Of Anarchy would’ve wrapped a month before filming began. Universal Pictures played the Cool Girl and rolled with it, agreeing with Hunnam that he wouldn’t have sufficient time to prepare for the role. Then Jamie Dornan stepped into Grey’s oxfords and the rest is exceptionally-bad-Twilight-fan-fiction history.
Would that Hunnam could move on so easily—it seems the actor still regrets pulling out of the box-office hit. In a recent interview with V Man magazine (via Digital Spy), Hunnam says starting production on the movie and missing out on its release was the “most emotionally destructive and difficult thing that I’ve ever had to deal with professionally. It was heartbreaking.” Hunnam was left devastated by the forced withdrawal, but he had a Crimson Peak to reach, and a TV series to finish.
Hunnam also shot down rumors that he was too bashful to drop trou and abandon himself to E.L. James’ hilariously scripted sex scenes. He reminded V Man that Jax Teller’s butt was practically a secondary character on Sons Of Anarchy, and that he’d hooked up with Aidan “Littlefinger” Gillen on the original Queer As Folk series.