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It’s nearly a year since Charlie Hunnam dropped out of Fifty Shades of Grey, but he’s still bothered by rumors surrounding his exit.
As Gossip Cop reported at the time, the “Sons of Anarchy” star left the highly-anticipated film adaptation of the erotic bestseller last October, citing scheduling issues.
He further said earlier this year that he had a “nervous breakdown” over having to pull off the major role while under big time constraints.
Hunnam now stands by those statements, and opens up to Entertainment Weekly about the fallout, revealing that he tried to go into “radio silence” at the time.
“It was a very difficult position that I put myself in, and that I put the studio in, because of course, those type of things are like red rag to a bull to a lot of bloggers and reviewers,” says the FX star.
He continues, “There was a whirlwind of speculation that went around it, and I just feel like I’m happy to do interviews to promote projects and to get the word out there and stuff, but I don’t feel as though I really owe anyone an explanation on the things I do.”
“It’s very personal to me, and every decision I make comes from my heart. There’s nothing ever monetarily or fame-seeking or any of the other motivations that sometimes go hand-in-hand with this profession,” says Hunnam. “To me, it’s just not like that. I’m on [reportedly laughs] a journey of self-discovery and trying to avoid total existential crisis. That’s the kind of operating zone that I’m approaching this business from.”
“And so it was very painful, and it was very difficult. I was worried that the wrong perception would come out, which is what happened — it was all about that I got cold feet, or that I didn’t have faith in the movie, or that I didn’t like the script, and all this f*cking bullsh*t,” he complains.
The TV star goes on, “Anybody that knows the process of actors with integrity going about choosing roles knew that all of those questions would have been answered in the very first meeting and that had any of that actually been the case, I would have not gotten myself in the situation in the first place.”
“So it was a little bit annoying and a little bit painful, and I really was just so sad for Sam [Taylor-Johnson], the director, because I absolutely adore her,” says Hunnam, “and I gave her my word and committed to going on this journey with her.”
He reflects, “It’s been many years that I’ve been in this business. All of a sudden, I’m getting all of these wonderful people approaching me and asking me to work with them. It’s very hard to say no when you love and respect people.”
“I just kind of made a bit of a rookie mistake in that one in biting off more than I could chew,” says the actor.
And, as it turns out, the movie isn’t the only project Hunnam didn’t follow through with.
Further telling the magazine how he “absolutely lost my mind last year,” Hunnam reveals, “I had some big personal stuff going in my life, and I think it just threw me off balance and I decided I was gonna buy a ranch, I was gonna take Fifty Shades of Grey and every other movie that I got offered all at the same time, and then I had something of a nervous breakdown and had to pull out of all of it.”
“So I didn’t end up buying that ranch. Literally, I had an hour until my, like, [reportedly laughing again] six-figure deposit was no longer refundable,” says Hunnam. “When I say I pulled out at the 11th hour, I really did.”
“That sucks. That sucks for everyone involved,” he adds.
What do you think of Hunnam’s comments?
