Charlie Hunnam Reveals the Movie He Calls the Worst Experience of His Career

When word first got out that Charlie Hunnam had been cast as the mysterious and troubled Christian Grey, fans were buzzing with excitement. However, that excitement didn’t last long, as the actor walked away from the massive project just a month later. At the time, the official word was that he simply had too much on his plate with his hit show Sons of Anarchy, making it impossible to fit both into his schedule.

Even so, it was clear that the decision to leave Fifty Shades of Grey was a heavy one for Hunnam. He didn’t hold back when talking about it, honestly calling the experience of quitting the movie the worst professional experience of my life.

While he never went into the exact details of why it felt so bad, it is easy to see why it left such a bitter taste. He might have been frustrated about missing out on a role that could have changed his entire career path, or perhaps the intense pressure from the media and fans after he left was just too much to handle.

Looking back, leaving the franchise might have actually been a lucky break for him. The movies were huge hits at the box office, but they also became a bit of a trap for Jamie Dornan, the actor who eventually took the role. While Dornan gained millions of fans, he also had to work incredibly hard afterward to prove he could do more than just play Christian Grey.

Critics generally disliked the series, which didn’t exactly help Dornan’s reputation as a serious actor at first. Even the director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, admitted that making the first film was a pretty miserable experience for her.

Dornan eventually found his way back to more respected films like the war drama Anthropoid and the Oscar-winning Belfast. But the whole story of Hunnam almost being the face of the franchise is still a great example of how messy the movie business can be. Even though Hunnam remembers it as a low point, it probably helped him choose the grittier, more diverse roles that have made him such a respected star today.

As this year begins, Hunnam is currently enjoying some of the best reviews of his career for his terrifying role as the real-life killer Ed Gein in the Netflix series Monster: The Ed Gein Story. The show, which premiered in late 2025, has been a massive hit and earned him a nomination for Best Actor at the Critics’ Choice Awards earlier this month. He shared the screen with stars like Laurie Metcalf and Tom Hollander, and his performance has been called a career-defining turn.

Fans of the actor also have plenty more to look forward to this year. He is set to star in the highly anticipated Prime Video series Criminal, which is based on a famous comic book series. In this show, he plays Leo Patterson, a brilliant master thief, alongside a heavy-hitting cast that includes Emilia Clarke, Luke Evans, and Adria Arjona.

Do you think Charlie Hunnam’s career would have been better or worse today if he had stayed on to star in the Fifty Shades of Grey movies? Share your thoughts in the comments.