Charlie Hunnam wanted to base his depiction of Christian Grey on Elon Musk before he dropped out of '50 Shades'

• Charlie Hunnam said he originally wanted to base Christian Grey of "50 Shades of Grey" on another self-made billionaire — Elon Musk.
• "I thought a lot about Elon Musk. But I was projecting my narrative onto the film they wanted to make and they weren't interested in that," Hunnam told The Times of London.
• Hunnam dropped out of the movie in October 2013, and just 11 days later Jamie Dornan was cast as Mr Grey.
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Charlie Hunnam said he originally intended to base his portrayal of Christian Grey in "50 Shades of Grey" on another self-made billionaire — Elon Musk.

The British actor spoke to The Times of London and told them he had a fundamental disagreement with the movie's producers over how Grey should be depicted, based on Musk

"I thought a lot about Elon Musk. But I was projecting my narrative onto the film they wanted to make and they weren't interested in that," Hunnam said. 

Hunnam stepped away from the film in October 2013 with The Hollywood Reporter citing "increasing conflict with the high-profile film's creative team" as well as scheduling issues behind the decision.

Hunnam was originally cast as the titular Grey in September of that year alongside Dakota Johnson as the 21-year-old university graduate, Anastasia Steele.

Author of the best-selling series, E.L. James, praised the movie's casting decisions via Twitter, making special mention of the "gorgeous and talented Charlie Hunnam" 

Hunnam reportedly beat out Armie Hammer, Matt Bomer, Ian Somerhalder, Henry Cavill, Alex Pettyfer, Robert Pattinson, and Alexander Skarsgard for the role, according to USA Today.

Aside from having problems with Universal Pictures, the then-"Sons of Anarchy" actor also didn't receive the desired approval of fans of the book with an online petition to recast the movie garnering almost 93,000 votes at the time.

And just 11 days after Hunnam announced his departure, "Once Upon A Time" actor Jamie Dornan was cast as Mr Grey. 

"50 Shades" producer Dana Brunetti tweeted a brief explanation once Dornan was cast and told fans there's more to casting than just desired looks for the role. 

Hunnam gave his first detailed explanation as to his exit from "50 Shades" to Vanity Fair back in March 2015, where he said trying to fit in filming for it was "the worst professional experience of my life." 

"It was the most emotionally destructive and difficult thing that I've ever had to deal with professionally. It was heartbreaking," Hunnam said. 

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