Charlie Hunnam Says Turning Down 'Fifty Shades' Trilogy Was 'Worst Professional Experience' and 'Heartbreaking'

Charlie Hunnam is a man of his word, and as such he bowed out of "Fifty Shades of Grey."

The leading man of FX's "Sons of Anarchy" has opened up about turning down the coveted role of Christian Grey in the film adaptation of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" Trilogy. It was rumored the British actor turned down the role due to the sexually explicit content of the film. However, the 35-year-old actor revealed the true reasoning was due to scheduling conflicts.

I n an interview with V Man Magazine, he said leaving behind the role of Christian Grey was a "difficult" and "heartbreaking."

"Oh, it was the worst professional experience of my life. It was the most emotionally destructive and difficult thing that I've ever had to deal with professionally," Hunnam confessed.

"It was heartbreaking."

Hunnam was replaced by Irish actor Jamie Dornan shortly after he turned down the role in 20103.

Charlie verbally committed to taking part in Guillermo del Toro's fantasy-filled horror flick, "Crimson Peak." The movie focuses on an aspiring author who, after a terrible family tragedy, find herself torn between love for her childhood friend and a mysterious outsider.

Charlie explained to the magazine that as a man of his word, he would take on the role of Dr. lan McMichael in "Crimson Peak" and unfortunately let go of "Fifty Shades of Grey."

"I'd given Guillermo my word, over a year before, that I was going to do this film," he said. "People were saying, 'Are you crazy? Guillermo still has got four months to recast, it's the fourth lead, you can go and do this [instead].' I said, 'I can't. He's my friend, I've done a film with him, I gave him my word.'"

"I'm pretty mercurial and a very difficult, long-winded decision-maker at the best of times. It was deeply unpleasant and challenging emotionally," he added. "I really, really pride myself on being a professional and a man of keeping my word. It means a lot to me, truly."

In addition, Hunnam still had to wrap the final season of "Sons of Anarchy."

Being the loyal and courteous man he claims to be Hunnam called "Fifty Shades" director Sam Taylor-Johnson directly to break the terrible news.

"I called her and we both cried our eyes out on the phone for 20 minutes," he revealed. "I needed to tell her that this was not going to work... There was a lot of personal stuff going on in my life that left me on real emotional shaky ground and mentally weak. I just got myself so f**king overwhelmed and I was sort of having panic attacks about the whole thing."

Charlie also makes clear, the sexual nature of the film was not a problem at all, citing his former role on LOGO's "Queer as Folk" as an example. "When I was 18 I was getting f**ked in the ass, completely naked on national TV, you know?" he said.

Wow. The second "Fifty Shades" movie, "Fifty Shades Darker" will hit theaters in February 2017. "Crimson Peak" opens Oct, 16, 2015.