The Fifty Shades drama between Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam is finally getting the tea it deserves. When these two Hollywood heavyweights bumped into each other recently, Dakota couldn’t resist giving Charlie some serious grief about ditching the Christian Grey role that made Jamie Dornan famous and her life absolutely miserable.
Charlie’s Regret
Charlie Hunnam dropped out of Fifty Shades of Grey back in 2013, claiming scheduling conflicts with Sons of Anarchy. But let’s be real – dude probably saw what was coming and ran for the hills. Smart move, considering the behind-the-scenes chaos that followed.
“She gave me a bit of a hard time about it in a very fun way,” Hunnam told Variety about his recent encounter with Dakota. The 45-year-old actor admitted he “wasn’t thinking clearly” when he initially accepted the role before bailing. Can you blame him? The Fifty Shades drama that unfolded during production was legendary.
Dakota’s Hell Experience
What Charlie avoided, Dakota endured for three whole films. The actress previously described the filming experience as “psychotic” in a 2022 Vanity Fair interview. E.L. James had “a lot of creative control, all day, every day” and basically scrapped the original script when Charlie left.
“There were parts of the books that just wouldn’t work in a movie,” Dakota revealed. The constant battles over dialogue, scenes, and creative direction turned what should have been a straightforward erotic drama into a production nightmare. Johnson and director Sam Taylor-Johnson often had to film two versions of scenes – one for E.L. James and one that actually made sense.
Jamie’s Burden
Jamie Dornan stepped into the Christian Grey role and stayed for all three films, earning praise from Dakota for being her anchor during the chaos. “He’s like a brother to me,” she said. “We had to really trust each other and protect each other” through the Fifty Shades drama.
The trilogy – Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), Fifty Shades Darker (2017), and Fifty Shades Freed (2018) – grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide despite terrible reviews. Universal Pictures and Focus Features distributed the films, with E.L. James serving as producer alongside Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti.
Charlie’s New Monsters
Now Charlie’s tackled an even darker role in Monster: The Ed Gein Story on Netflix, playing the infamous serial killer who inspired Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The irony isn’t lost – he avoided one controversial project only to dive headfirst into something way more disturbing.
“I just wasn’t thinking clearly,” Charlie laughed about his Fifty Shades exit. “I never looked back.” Meanwhile, Dakota’s probably thinking he dodged the biggest bullet in Hollywood history.
The Fifty Shades drama continues to haunt everyone involved, with Dakota recently admitting she wouldn’t have signed on if she’d known how “psychotic” the experience would become. Charlie’s probably counting his lucky stars he escaped that particular brand of Hollywood insanity.
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