Charlie Hunnam exits 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

Charlie Hunnam exits ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

By Yvonne Villarreal

Oct. 12, 2013 12 AM PT

It seems there was a little too much gray area in Charlie Hunnam’s schedule. The “Sons of Anarchy” actor has dropped out of the much-talked-about “Fifty Shades of Grey” movie.

Hunnam had been tapped to play the S&M-loving; billionaire Christian Grey in the big-screen adaption of the E.L. James erotica novel--a casting choice that left some scratching their heads and others furiously calling for a rewrite.

It looks like the latter won out. On Saturday, Universal Pictures and Focus Features released the following statement:

“The filmmakers of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and Charlie Hunnam have agreed to find another male lead given Hunnam’s immersive TV schedule which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey.”

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The 33-year-old British actor is best known for playing tough-guy Jackson “Jax” Teller on FX’s “Sons of Anarchy,” a series centered on an outlaw motorcycle club. He recently appeared this summer as Raleigh Beckett in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim.”

Hunnam’s departure puts the high-profile project in quite the bind. “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which is being directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, is scheduled to be released in August.

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