Charlie Hunnam wasn’t the only Hollywood hunk who wanted to play Christian Grey. Although he eventually landed a role in the hit erotic franchise, Brant Daugherty auditioned for the part of Christian twice before producers picked Jamie Dornan. What other Hollywood heartthrobs were almost cast in the sexy role?
According to Just Jared , Daugherty opened up about auditioning for Fifty Shades of Grey during a Facebook Live interview with fans. The actor, who was eventually cast for the part of Sawyer in Fifty Shades Freed , revealed that he auditioned twice for the part and didn’t get it because he was a little too young at the time.
“Yes, I did. I auditioned for it when they were originally casting it. I was a little young, I think I was 26 at the time,” Daugherty explained. “They ended up hiring Charlie Hunnam and then he dropped out. And they brought me in to audition again and then they hired Jamie [Dornan]. And Jamie is perfect for the role and I ended up getting Sawyer, so it’s hard to be upset about something like that.”
Hunnam initially landed the part in 2013 but was forced to back out because his schedule was too busy. When filming for Fifty Shades of Grey started, Hunnam was still starring on Kurt Sutter’s hit TV show, Sons of Anarchy , and he had already committed to playing a part in Guillermo Del Toro’s movie, Crimson Peak .
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— Charlie Hunnam (@CharlieHunnamFC) March 12, 2018
With so many projects on his plate — and Hunnam unwilling to back out of Del Toro’s project — the production schedules didn’t line up, and he was forced to back out of Fifty Shades .
Hunnam opened up about leaving Fifty Shades two years after the fact and admitted that it was a traumatic experience. The Sons of Anarchy star did everything in his power to try and make things work out and having to back out left him emotionally damaged in what he later called one of the worst times of his career.
In fact, just last year, Hunnam admitted that he still hasn’t watched Fifty Shades of Grey because he doesn’t want to have to relive everything that went down. Fortunately, producers were able to recast the part, and Jamie Dornan has done an excellent job bringing the character to life.
But what other actors were almost cast for the part?
Producers tried their best to get some of Hollywood’s top stars to play Christian, but most of their efforts failed. Ryan Gosling was reportedly at the top of their list, but sources claim he wasn’t interested in the project.
Garrett Hedlund, Christian Cooke, and Robert Pattinson were also considered for the part, though none of them were able to make the commitment. In the end, Fifty Shades director Sam Taylor-Johnson paired Dakota Johnson with Dornan and things have worked out for the most part.
The final film in the franchise, Fifty Shades Freed , was released in theaters last month and has grossed over $300 million worldwide.
Charlie Hunnam is currently filming A Million Little Pieces with Billy Bob Thornton and his Sons of Anarchy co-star Ryan Hurst.