The heat of the “50 Shades of Grey” casting mayhem has passed, but the process is far from over. Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam may have landed the sultry roles of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, but there are plenty other parts to be filled. So remain vigil. Keep your ear to the ground, because the casting news will continue to roll in as the “50 Shades” puzzle pieces fall into place.
Next to join the cast is Jennifer Ehle. According to Variety, she will star as Anastasia’s mother. The actress will completely change gears from her last production, where she starred in Sony’s “Zero Dark Thirty.” On second thought, the two movies could make for an exciting and rather intriguing take on Al Qaeda.
As the dust begins to settle in the wake of the major casting announcement last month, fans have come to terms with the producers’ decision to cast Hunnam. In fact, most have embraced the “Sons of Anarchy” and look forward to watching him strip down on the big screen, something for which he’s well prepared.
“You know what, I had such a baptism of fire with regards to sexuality on camera at the beginning of my career,” Hunnam said during a recent interview. "I starred in the British channel Four mini series 'Queer As Folk' where I played a young, gay character and there were some incredible, explicit sex scenes on that show. So I feel, and now I am 16 years older and more mature so I don't anticipate them being too much of a problem. It's like anything else, just an exciting challenge."
At first, Hunnam turned down the sultry role, but he ensures that the nudity was never the issue. "I just, there was a bit of a timing issue where I just wanted to insure that I was going to have enough time to really do the preparation so I can bring this guy to life and do him justice and when they decided to push the schedule to accommodate that then I was a no-brainer and I was in," he added.
“50 Shades of Grey” hits theaters next August. The countdown has begun.