12 Actors Who Were Almost Cast in Fifty Shades of Grey

It's been a year since the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise came to an end, but we're still stoking the fire. To be honest, we're still obsessed with the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, and Fifty Shades Freed wasn't half bad. You might now forever see Jamie Dornan as Christian and Dakota Johnson as Ana, but did you know there were a ton of other actors up for the roles? Take a look at the contenders like Charlie Hunnam, Shailene Woodley, and more stars who were almost cast in the racy film!

01
Ryan Gosling
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Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling "was the original prototype for the 27-year-old billionaire with a penchant for S&M, but he was not interested," according to an enlightening piece by The Hollywood Reporter. Dreams: shattered.

02
Shailene Woodley
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Shailene Woodley

Shailene Woodley was one of E L James's early favorites, according to THR, but the actress's press schedule for Divergent conflicted with the filming of the movie. Interestingly, sources say she "wasn't afraid of the nudity in the film's explicit sex scenes."

03
Garrett Hedlund
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Garrett Hedlund

Garrett Hedlund, heavily courted by Universal for the role of Christian, was this close to nabbing the lead. However, The Hollywood Reporter said he passed "because he couldn't connect with the character."

04
Felicity Jones
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Felicity Jones

Like Crazy's Felicity Jones drew interest for the role, "but at 30 is too old to play a 21-year-old college student," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

05
Christian Cooke
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Christian Cooke

British TV star Christian Cooke was considered for the role of Christian, said THR. Too bad he didn't get it; he already had the name down.

06
Elizabeth Olsen
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Elizabeth Olsen

The Hollywood Reporter said Elizabeth Olsen was considered.

07
Alicia Vikander
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Alicia Vikander

Swedish actress Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina) was also on the short list, according to THR's sources.

08
Imogen Poots
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Imogen Poots

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that British actress Imogen Poots (Greetings From Tim Buckley) was considered for the role of Anastasia.

09
Robert Pattinson
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Robert Pattinson

Author Bret Easton Ellis tweeted that "E L James and I were at Rob Pattinson's house when she admitted that Rob was first choice for Christian." He also commented that fan favorite Ian Somerhalder was "never in [the] running."

10
Charlie Hunnam
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Charlie Hunnam

11
Lucy Hale
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Lucy Hale

Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale told Cosmopolitan that her audition for the movie was "very, very sexual." She didn't end up with the part, but she did say, "it's one of those things where you have to commit wholeheartedly or you're going to make a fool of yourself."

12
Emilia Clarke
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Emilia Clarke

Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke divulged that she turned down Fifty Shades of Grey because of the nudity it would have required. "Well, Sam [Taylor-Johnson, the director] is a magician. I love her, and I thought her vision was beautiful. But the last time that I was naked on camera on [Game of Thrones] was a long time ago, and yet it is the only question that I ever get asked because I am a woman," Clarke told The Hollywood Reporter about turning down the part. "And it's annoying as hell and I'm sick and tired of it because I did it for the character — I didn't do it so some guy could check out my tits, for God's sake."