When Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson were announced as the stars of "Fifty Shades of Grey," the bondage-laced erotic tale based on E.L. James' internationally best-selling book, the fan reaction was fierce. Johnson and Hunnam weathered the storm together, with Hunnam telling the press that he and Johnson had "a real chemistry" and adding, "When they called me and told me, 'We would love you to do this,' the first question I asked was, 'It'll be Dakota, right?'"
Yet that chemistry wasn't enough to keep Hunnam on board. Four weeks before shooting was set to commence, he dropped out, citing scheduling conflicts.
Johnson later explained during an interview with David Letterman that it was "a confusing moment" for her and laughed awkwardly as she explained that Hunnam's "schedule conflicted." Letterman replied, "So that guy is gone, and then you have to begin the process all over again," and Johnson agreed, "yeah. That was a weird moment."
Hunnam's replacement, Jamie Dornan, seemed to mollify some fan objection but by all accounts lacked the "chemistry" Johnson reportedly had with Hunnam. Their press tour was low energy, and as a video Q&A session with Glamour magazine shows, the two both drew a blank when asked to come up with words that described each other, landing on awkwardly generic answers. In an interview with Today, the pair joked that they hated each other, but somehow it came off more authentic than their compliments had.
