“I have had some family stuff going on so just trying to stay focused and stay positive and keep trying to do a good job at work and be with my family and stay positive,” Charlie Hunnam said evasively late last week and that was about the closest anyone will get to hearing why the “Sons Of Anarchy” star dropped out of “Fifty Shades Of Grey.” No matter, a replacement has been found. Among the original list of contenders revealed just a few days after Hunnam dropped out of Universal’s project, ABC‘s “Once Upon A Time” star Jamie Dornan has nabbed the coveted role of Christian Grey.
The 31-year-old is also known for playing a serial killer on BBC Two crime drama “The Fall” and had a small role in Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette.” According to US Weekly and tabloid-like sources, Hunnam wasn’t interested in the movie to begin with, while others claimed the rabid fan interest made the actor nervous and uncomfortable. Evidently Dornan’s steamy screen-test with the movie’s female lead earned him the part. Sam Taylor-Johnson will direct and Dakota Johnson will play the female lead Anastasia Steele. An adaptation of E.L. James’ fanfic-like bestseller, “Fifty Shades Of Grey” is set to land in theaters Aug. 1, 2014. [Variety]