Producer Michael De Luca set the record straight recently on recasting Charlie Hunnam for Fifty Shades of Grey.
During The Hollywood Reporter’s roundtable discussion, De Luca explained that Hunnam was “awesome” in his audition with Dakota Johnson (who will play Anastasia Steele).
“We thought we’d get there with him, and then when we couldn’t, we anticipated that the new guy, Jamie Dornan, was going to be more of what the fans conjured in their imaginations,” he said, according to E! Online.
“In the case [of Fifty Shades], it really went down to the wire. Everyone wanted it to work out, including Charlie.
“In terms of schedule, to be free from Sons of Anarchy in time to show up on the set of our movie, the physical transformation and the psychological transformation from Jax to Christian Grey was more than he could accomplish in the time that we had.
“To his credit, he came to us and said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to be able to get there in the time we have, and I don’t want to do a bad job. I’m not going to be able to turn into this guy.’”
Fifty Shades of Grey will open in theaters Valentine’s Day 2015.
