This weekend saw Charlie Hunnam pull out of Fifty Shades Of Grey, leaving a gaping hole where a leading man should snugly fit. Given how quickly Universal and Focus want to bring the adaptation of E.L. James’ BDSM-filled novel to completion, the race is on to find a replacement. Sitting on the list currently? Such names as Alexander Skarsgard and The Fall’s Jamie Dornan{
They’re just two of the people now being considered, with the studio and director Sam Taylor-Johnson also considering others who were previously candidates, including Divergen****t’s Theo James and Romeo And Juliet’s Christian Cooke. According to The Hollywood Reporter, an early favourite, Garrett Hedlund, is out of consideration because he’s now working on Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken.
Skarsgard can certainly handle the kinkier aspects of the role given what True Blood usually asks of him. And Dornan brought a conflicted energy to crime drama The Fall, plus he has the advantage of being a lesser-known name and therefore someone who people can see as Christian Grey, the billionaire who begins an S&M relationship with virginal college graduate Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson).
In related Fifty Shades news, Patrick Marber has been hired to whip Kelly Marcel’s script into shape ready for the film to shoot starting next month. He and Taylor-Johnson have form together, as she directed the Closer writer’s short script, Love You More.