Dakota Johnson has a lot running on Fifty Shades of Grey, so it’s no surprise that when it came time to pick a new actor to play Christian Grey, she played a big role in the selection process.
Johnson has been cast as Anastasia Steele, the much-sought-after lead role in the film adaptation of E.L. James’ bestselling novel. Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam was originally picked to portray playboy billionaire Christian Grey, but when he dropped out due to other commitments Dakota took a lead role in finding his replacement.
Michael DeLuca, the film’s producer, said Dakota Johnson was “our rock” during the replacement process and helped determine who would be best for the role.
“She’s helping us look through the candidates to see which chemistry kind of our captures our attention,” DeLuca told E! News .
The list of candidates originally included about five names, including Alexander Skarsgard and Jamie Dornan, a British model and actor famous for his role as Sheriff Graham on the ABC series Once Upon a Time.
In the end, it was his chemistry with Dakota Johnson that helped Jamie Dornan earn the role, Yahoo Movies reported. After seeing how the two actors interacted toether, De Luca and fellow producer Dana Brunetti decided that Jamie was the man for the job.
There is still a lot of buzz from Hunnam’s departure from the role. He was never a fan favorite, and his sudden departure led to rumors that there was more going on than he indicated. Though Hunnam said he wanted to spend more time with his family , others close o the film believe he left because he was not given sufficient creative control over his part and the script. Others say he was put off by the $125,000 offered for the role .
Dakota Johnson is apparently already preparing for her Fifty Shades of Grey role. She was spotted this week with her blonde hair dyed brunette, fitting for her Anastasia Steele character.
