With production starting this fall, Universal and Focus could have a teaser trailer ready for the Super Bowl
The mystery of who will star in “Fifty Shades of Grey” has finally been solved, so now the biggest question is: how did the red-hot casting search go down at Universal Pictures and Focus Features?
As TheWrap reported on Sunday, Charlie Hunnam, the British actor best known for playing bad-ass biker Jax Teller on “Sons of Anarchy,” will play the kinky billionaire who seduces virginal college graduate Anastasia Steele, who will be played by Dakota Johnson, daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith.
Johnson was first linked to Universal’s “Fifty Shades of Grey” by TheWrap.
TheWrap has learned that the couple had to do a “chemistry read” — in other words, do a scene on video — to convince producers and Universal executives that they had the right level of heat. An insider on the project confirmed that both had to audition for the role.
Make no mistake, several young actresses turned down the role of Anastasia due to the full frontal nudity it requires, including Felicity Jones. A former model who made a memorable appearance in her underwear in “The Social Network,” Johnson is more than comfortable flaunting her body.
An insider describes Johnson as an “ambitious” actress who yearns to be as famous as her actor parents, Griffith and Johnson. She was willing to do whatever the role required, within reason, of course. Now she’s the poster girl for one of the most highly-anticipated movie adaptations in recent memory.
As for Hunnam, he appears to have been high on Universal’s wish list. On August 20, TwitchFilm broke the news that Hunnam was the filmmakers’ top choice to play Christian.
That’s exactly how the casting process went down for “Fifty Shades of Grey”. Both Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam had to participate in what was called a “chemistry read” . This basically means they filmed themselves auditioning together, reading a scene from the movie. This was crucial for the filmmakers to see if they could create a believable on-screen spark between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.
Author E.L. James reportedly had a lot of say in casting, and this chemistry test was likely a big part of why Johnson and Hunnam eventually landed the roles. Although interestingly, Hunnam later dropped out due to scheduling conflicts
