"I’m not nearly as rich as I would have been" — Charlie Hunnam talks about his exit from Fifty Shades of Grey franchise 10 years ago

Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam spoke to TMZ, on Friday, May 17, 2024, and opened up about his exit from the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. Upon being asked about his decision to leave the movie franchise, Hunnam initially said that he couldn't even talk about it. He was then asked as to how things have happened for him after the exit from the very successful film franchise, about 10 years ago.

To this, the actor and screenwriter said,

"I'm not nearly as rich as I would have been."

The 44-year-old actor further revealed that he had not seen the movies yet, however, is very eager to watch them.

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Irish actor Charlie Hunnam opened up about leaving the Fifty Shades of Grey film franchise a decade ago

The first movie in the Fifty Shades of Grey film franchise was released in 2015; the second, Fifty Shades Darker, followed a year later in 2016; and the third and final picture, Fifty Shades Freed, premiered in theatres in 2018. The cast included Dakota Johnson playing the role of Anastasia Steele Grey, Jamie Dornan playing the character of Christian Grey, and several others.

Recently, in the TMZ interview, Charlie Hunnam added that he would have been so much richer if he played the role of Christian Grey in the hit movie franchise. In June 2014, Hunnam spoke to Life & Style about the role in the movies and said—

"I felt like I had an interesting take on that character and felt like I could have done a good job of playing Christian Grey, otherwise I wouldn’t have taken it on in the first place."

He further spoke about exiting the project, and said—

"When you put the time into something like that and a character comes alive in your mind, it’s heartbreaking not to be able to play him. It was definitely kind of heartbreaking having to say goodbye to that character and not bring it to life."

In 2015, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Charlie Hunnam revealed that he was very much bothered even when he had to leave the project abruptly. The actor then said—

"It was very, very painful for me, that whole process, just very unpleasant. I felt like I let myself down. I let those people (crew) down on Fifty Shades that I'd grown to really love and respect. It's just a really unpleasant period of time for me."

Hunnam was the first choice to play Christian Grey in the movie franchise. He, however, had to exit the project due to reported scheduling issues. The dates were clashing with the making of his other project Sons of Anarchy.

In the December 2021 issue of the GQ magazine, Dornan expressed his mixed feelings after initially losing the lead role in the franchise to Charlie Hunnam. He then described that while he thought the journey to the making of the films would be fun, it would be a little "strange" too. Thus, he then felt that it was better to not be a part of it.

Dornan also talked about when Charlie Hunnam left the franchise and he was the next one in line. He said—

"But he pulled out and then I got a call. And I got it. And there we go. I had to confront that choice again."

Dornan was reportedly told that taking part in a steamy movie might ruin his career. He, however, said—

"[It did] no harm to my career to be part of a movie franchise that has made more than $1 billion."

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After exiting the film franchise, Hunnam played several roles including one in Sons of Anarchy

The film franchise received immense critic reviews, but it was a massive financial success. In a recent interview with TMZ, after Charlie Hunnam was asked if he had watched the movies, he continued by stating—

"I have not seen it, but that's not by design. I want to see it. I've been waiting."

Apart from Hunnam and Dornan, several other actors were also considered to play the role of Christian Grey. The list reportedly included Ryan Gosling, Alexander Skarsgard, Theo James, and Robert Pattinson. The three movies under the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise garnered about $1 billion from its audience after its theatrical release.

While Charlie Hunnam had left the successful film franchise, he later became a part of the FX series Sons Of Anarchy. He has also become a part of an American-Australian TV series Shantaram which was released in 2022. He last appeared in the movie Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire which was released in 2023.