'50 Shades of Grey' Actor Charlie Hunnam Talks Nudity and Sex in Upcoming Movie

After months of excruciating deliberation, “50 Shades of Grey” finally found its Mr. Christian Grey and Ms. Anastasia Steele. Since Universal and author E. L. James announced the novel’s movie adaptation in March, fans have remained glued to their desks, alert and diligent for any casting news, but it never came. Day in and day out, new fan polls and mock trailers would feature new candidates and fan speculations. Day in and day out they suffered dismay and disappointment at the lack of an official announcement. The top dogs remained hush on the issue. Not even a peep for fans to nibble on. Nothing.

Anxiety and frustrations boiled, so when the casting news went public last week, it’s natural that things didn’t go over smoothly. Those who spent tireless nights at their computers promoting their favorite Christian and Ana couples deserved to get who they wanted. They fought hard for Matt Bomer or Ian Somerhalder to claim the throne, so they were clearly outraged when someone other than their favorites snagged the role.

The onslaught of backlash was not too surprising, but frustrating nonetheless. Fans could not comprehend how or why the studio chose Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam to grace the big screen as Anastasia and Christian. Their cries were angry, harmful and desperate. But through the thick of it all, Hunnam rose above, embraced the role and even took the time to share his thoughts with “50 Shades” fans worldwide.

“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 an interview with CBS. "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," Hunnam said.

And while Hunnam is excited and ready to take on the new challenge, his girlfriend, Morgana McNelis, isn’t as thrilled. "Of course, it's difficult being with an actor, you know?" he said. "She is required to share certain parts of me with the world that she wouldn't necessarily choose to do, but we have a great relationship and she loves me and wants to be with me and we've been together a long time now, and I think she understands and has come to terms with the fact that there are certain elements of me that she is going to have to share. This is an extreme example of that, but thankfully we do have seven and a half years of history together, so it won't be a big problem."

Regardless of the outcome, the casting drama has ended. Don’t wallow in your sorrows. Embrace the Christian as he is, and get ready for a wild, naked ride.