'Stow your twitchy palms ladies... our man is here. Welcome to #TeamFifty @JamieDornan1 x,' so E.L. James tweets to announce that Dornan is the new Christian Grey depicter.
- Oct 25, 2013
AceShowbiz - It's official; Jamie Dornan is cast in the lead role in "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie. The book's author E.L. James confirms it via Twitter after Variety first broke the news on Wednesday, October 23. "Stow your twitchy palms ladies... our man is here. Welcome to #TeamFifty @JamieDornan1 x," so she tweeted.
Dornan, known for playing Axel von Fersen in Sofia Coppola's film "Marie Antoinette", emerged as a frontrunner to play the kinky billionaire after Charlie Hunnam exited the project earlier this month. Other actors mentioned as contenders for the coveted role were Francois Arnaud, Billy Magnussen, Luke Bracey, Theo James and Christian Cooke.
Dakota Johnson is still attached to portray Anastasia Steele, a naive college student who enters an S&M relationship with the wealthy businessman. Her casting, like Hunnam's, was met with backlash from fans, who mostly thought Alexis Bledel would be perfect for the female lead role. Producer Dana Brunetti explained their choice back then, "There is a lot that goes into casting that isn't just looks. Talent, availability, their desire to do it, chemistry with other actor, etc."
Production for the movie adaptation of the steamy novel is scheduled to begin in November to meet a planned August 1, 2014 release. Sam Taylor-Wood is on board to direct, while Patrick Marber was recently hired to rewrite the script.
