Two Actors Audition for Lead Male Role in “Fifty Shades of Grey”
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WILL OLIVER/AFP/GettyImages(LOS ANGELES) — The studios behind the Fifty Shades of Grey movie have officially begun the process of replacing Charlie Hunnam, who had been set to play Christian Grey before dropping out earlier this month.
The Hollywood Reporter says two actors auditioned Friday alongside lead female star Dakota Johnson and in front of Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson: 31-year-old British TV star Jamie Dornan and recent Tony Award nominee Billy Magnussen.
Magnussen, 28, earned a Tony nod for his performance in the play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. He is set to star in the Disney adaptation of the stage musical Into the Woods.
Universal Pictures and Focus Features in early September announced the casting of Hunnam and Johnson.
Johnson will play college student Anastasia Steele, who enters into a submissive relationship with Christian Grey.
Production on Fifty Shades of Grey is still scheduled to begin on Nov. 1. The movie will be released on Aug. 1, 2014.
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