It may not be clear whether or not Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam is up for the role of Christian Grey in the 50 Shades of Grey movie adaptation (please no, don't do it Charlie), but The Wrap is currently reporting that Ben & Kate star Dakota Johnson is up for Anastasia Steele, the film's leading lady.
According to the site, rumors are "flying fast and furiously" around Universal about who will nab the lead roles in the film, because as much as I hate to say it, this movie is going to make BANK. It's literally Twilight, minus the vampires plus more sex — and around this time last year, author/fanfic writer E.L. James was making $1.34 million a week from book sales alone. Yeah, people are going to see this movie.
Frankly, I've lost track of all the actress' names who have been mentioned as "up" for this role. Off the top of my head, there was Felicity Jones, Ellen Page, Blake Lively, Emmy Rossum, Emma Watson, and Emilia Clarke — basically, every single young, twenty-something actress you can think of. The Wrap stresses that Dakota Johnson's name being added to the list just makes her another actress "currently being considered" for the role, but they add that she is just who producers are looking for: "She's 23 years old, and though she isn't quite a movie star (yet), she has acting credibility and a rising feature career."
You may remember her as that beautiful college co-ed that slept with Justin Timberlake's character Sean Parker in the Social Network before heading off to class, or you may know her as the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Either way and totally regardless, there's a good chance she could be Ana.
My distaste for 50 Shades really knows no bounds, and I could probably write a book on how terrible a character Ana is and how her relationship with Christian Grey is not a healthy dom/sub relationship but instead abusive and controlling, so I won't get started on that. But, even I have to admit, whichever actress that takes this role is going to receive a lot of exposure very quickly—as The Wrap puts it, it's a potential star-maker.
As previously reported, Sam Taylor-Johnson has signed on to direct the film, and it's set to hit theaters in less than a year.
