Charlie Hunnam: Hollywood’s Winner of the Week

Charlie Hunnam’s decision to pull out of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie is a win for cinema as well as for the man himself.

Because I never intend to read the book (half the synopsis on its Wikipedia page was more than enough), this assessment could be rightly judged as crass or blunt. I’d counter, though, that furor from fans of the original material has likely played a role in this decision, so I’m not alone in my sentiments. The casting has been scrutinized more than that for Twilight based on the book’s wide-reaching success, and those who called themselves Twilight Originals had a lot to say when Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were cast. We know how that ended.

Hunnam claims he pulled out because of a scheduling conflict with work on Sons of Anarchy. We’re not fooled, though. You don’t have to feel ashamed, Charlie! You’re the bigger man; you came to your senses and took the high road. Whether the pressure from fans was a bigger contributor to his decision than the considerations of the role itself is unknown, but it will go a long way toward keeping his career intact.

For Hunnam to have gone through and played Christian Grey would have certainly swayed attention away from his grittier role in Sons of Anarchy. Portraying a masochistic character like Grey would have put him in the firing line for future roles as a romantic, and possibly typecast him within that genre. The dreaded T-word is the one thing most actors try and avoid early in their careers, and if he felt uncomfortable about that prospect it only dawned on him after the casting. Said potential typecasting could have left him only with a few years in the spotlight before the next hot body comes along; a possible career thrown away in waste.

Romantic or other sexualized films can also bring about complacency from their actors. That’s not said as a generalization, and can happen within other genres too. But if Hunnam were to be typecast in roles idolized by women, his skills may suffer for it if scripts resign him to (not) pulling off cheesy dialogue and looking pretty.

From a woman’s perspective, casting the “perfect man” is difficult in today’s world because so many men try and emulate what they perceive to be the perfect look. Mix that with a story of sexual fantasy and you have near-maniacal ladies obsessing about who would best bring that to them visually. Henry Cavill has been considered for the role of Christian Grey, along with others like Matt Bomer. But it’s a huge risk to anyone game enough to touch it. If the film was badly received by critics, it would be a career-ender.

Hunnam’s performance in Pacific Rim wasn’t very well received, and the pressure of the film and his performance living up to the standards of millions of fans could very well have proven too much for him. To think that fans can have say in casting decisions, if that was the case, is a scary thing. It brings into question a lot about cinema in today’s age; acting and casting should be based on more than what the fans want – without expert opinion the result is likely to be shit.

Hunnam’s decision is a win for cinema because (there’s a chance) he saw said shit forming. This is what happens when films based on literary successes are produced in a hurry. Not giving the cultural euphoria of a fictional work time to wear off can be detrimental to the finished product, and this situation will certainly give production companies something to think about.

So let’s give Hunnam a pat on the back for disillusioning producers who think they can capitalize off a brand that easily. Hollywood still wins (although they got a kick up the arse), and he may have dug himself out of a career grave. Don’t be surprised if you see Hunnam in a romcom one day though. He’ll have emerged from this early acting phase and be ready to attempt something “different,” and audiences in turn will be ready to watch him do it.