Charlie Hunnam is ready to whip out the handcuffs and step into the Red Room of Pain. The "Sons of Anarchy" star has finally broke his silence on playing Christian Grey in the upcoming movie "Fifty Shades of Grey."
During the season premiere of his hit FX show, Hunnam opened up about playing the kinky billionaire and his leading lady Dakota Johnson.
"As soon as we got in the room and started reading with Dakota, I knew that I definitely wanted to do it, because there was a tangible chemistry between us," Hunnam told The Hollywood Reporter. "It felt kind of exciting and fun and weird and compelling, and so that was it."
Producers and executives have defended their choice to pick Hunnam for the lead male role saying that he and Johnson had "excellent chemistry." Dana Brunetti did an interview and said that was the most important part of the casting the two leads - without that chemistry the movie was sure to be a flop.
Hunnam faced a lot of backlash following the Labor Day announcement when E.L. James tweeted to her millions of followers that Hunnam and Johnson would play the couple. During the premiere of "Sons of Anarchy" he admitted that he was a little hesitant to take the role at first but insisted it was because of a scheduling conflict. He has been a part of the FX show since 2008.
There has been several rumors that Hunnam wasn't a first pick among producers but according to The Hollywood Reporter producers and executives were so interested in him that they pushed back the shooting schedule to give him more time to think about it. It was ultimately, director Sam Taylor-Johnson who convinced him to take the part.
After having several meetings with Taylor-Johnson, Hunnam said he was "really intrigued and excited about it."
"I went and read the first book to get a clearer idea of who this character was and felt even more excited about the prospect of bringing him to life," he said.
In case fans are wondering if Hunnam can bring the heat to the big screen the actor said he isn't worried in the slightest about performing under pressure. The 33-year-old hunk is confident he can pull off the sex scenes. He does have experience getting down and dirty for an acting role.
"My first job was on a Channel 4 miniseries called 'Queer as Folk.' [There were] incredibly explicit sexual scenes with a man," he said. "I mean, I'm 16 and 17-years wiser now. So if I could do it when I was 18 with a guy, I can certainly do it at 33 with a lady."
What do you think? How will Charlie Hunnam do as Christian Grey?
