Charlie Hunnam;Fifty Shades of Grey Was the 'Worst Professional Experience of My Life'

 

 It turns out Hunnam himself is haunted by his decision to back out of playing leading man Christian Grey – a role that later went to Jamie Dornan.

"It was the worst professional experience of my life," Hunnam told V Man magazine of exiting the film. "It was the most emotionally destructive and difficult thing that I've ever had to deal with professionally. It was heartbreaking."

 "I'd given Guillermo my word, over a year before, that I was going to do this film," he explained. "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 really, really pride myself on being a professional and a man of keeping my word," he said. "It means a lot to me, truly."

The decision ultimately came down to timing.

"I was going to finish Sons ... fly to Vancouver the next day, have ten days of rehearsal, and then start shooting," he said of what would have been a very hectic schedule. "Then I was going to have three days after that and I'd have to start shooting Crimson Peak and then I'd have two days to travel and go back into season 7 of Sons."