Fifty Shades of Grey movie cast: Meet Anastasia and Christian

After more than a year of speculation, the actors cast in the lead roles for the Fifty Shades of Grey movie were finally announced yesterday. Were they the names people had expected?

Well, not really.

Social media has been going crazy with various campaigns for well-known actors to land the role of Christian Grey. There was Ryan Gosling, Ian Somerhalder, Alexander Skarsgård, Henry Cavill and, my personal favourite, Matt Bomer. Remember this image I posted a few months ago?

  

Yeah, turns out that was a little fake! But not that we hadn't realised at the time.

There was less speculation about Anastasia Steele but, nevertheless, people still had their favourites. I would love to have seen Alexis Bledel in the role, or perhaps even Emmy Rossum. Again, I wasn't the only one:

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So who are the strangers actually starring in the roles? Even though they're not immediately recognisable, they're not exactly newcomers either.

The first to be announced was Anastasia, who'll be played by Dakota Johnson. She's the daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, and has previously starred in films such as 21 Jump Street and The Social Network. Personally, I like her – she's got an understated beauty that Anastasia is said to have, and her voice has a delicacy which will suit the role. 

Here's an interview she did for Nylon TV:

Then, shortly afterwards, it was revealed that Charlie Hunnam will be playing Christian. Charlie is a Brit who is best known for his roles in Pacific Rim and Sons of Anarchy. I must admit that I hadn't heard of him before the announcement, and I was a little dubious at first, but he is starting to grow on me. He looks a bit like a cross between Heath Ledger and Daniel Craig, don't you think?

And here's Charlie in a clip from Pacific Rim. Love those arms!


What are your thoughts on the casting? Are you disappointed by the choices, or are you excited to see how the characters will be interpreted? Who do you think will be cast next?

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ETA – 20/11/2013

Well, that didn't last long...

Charlie Hunnam is out, and Jamie Dornam is in as Christian Grey!

Here are Jamie and Dakota on the cover of Entertainment Weekly (yup, it's real this time.). Personally, I think he might be a better choice. But how good of an actor is he? I guess we'll find out sometime around Valentine's Day 2015...