Alex Pettyfer filmed very raunchy sex scene to try out for Fifty Shades of Grey – reveals director Gus Van Sant: ‘I wanted E.L. James to see my enthusiasm!’

Alex Pettyfer filmed a very raunchy sex scene to try out for the Fifty Shades of Gray film series, director Gus Van Sant has revealed.

The Magic Mike actor, 33, threw his hat in the ring to play BDSM-loving businessman Christian Gray in the film adaptations of the EL James books, while Van Sant, 71, performed a racy scene starring Pettyfer while directors vied to win the top spot. movie in the series.

Speak with The Hollywood ReporterVan Sant said, “It was one of the sex scenes. I thought it was a way to show (EL James) my enthusiasm. It’s difficult in the lead-up phase to get people to understand where you’re going when you actually make the film.

“Some people make sizzle reels. That might have been more the right way to go. But Alex Pettyfer really wanted to do it, so I thought, ‘We can just do a scene. And we did. And we showed them.”

However, Jamie Dornan was cast in the role of Grey, with Sam Taylor Johnson directing the first film and James Foley taking on the two sequels.

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan became household names when they starred as Anastasia Steele and Christian Gray in the 2015 film, with sequels Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Dakota Johnson and Dornan became household names when they starred as Anastasia Steele and Christian Gray in the 2015 film, with sequels Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Gray was originally going to be played by Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam, but he left the role shortly before filming was set to begin.

Dornan recently revealed he went into hiding to escape the ridicule that targeted his starring role in erotic thriller Fifty Shades of Grey.

The Irish-born heartthrob today revealed how he and his wife cut themselves off from the world in an attempt to escape the near-universal ‘doom’ that greeted the film’s release in 2015.

Dornan, who had previously received rave reviews for his role in BBC drama The Fall, told Desert Island Discs: “I think I’ve been hiding. I come in the background of career-changing reviews for The Fall to almost make it ridiculous.”

Dornan said he and his wife Amelia retreated to the country home of film director Taylor-Johnson and her actor husband Aaron.

He said, “They let us have their place in the country and we hid there for a while and just kind of cut ourselves off from the world and then kind of came out the other side.”

The star who went on to do two more films in the series said, “It (the film) made so much money that two or three were greenlit overnight.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Van Sant said: ‘It was one of the sex scenes. I thought it was a way to show (EL James) my enthusiasm. It is difficult in the start-up phase to make people understand where you are going when you actually make the film’

Fifty Shades of Gray explores the sadomasochistic relationship between college graduate Anastasia Ana Steele, played by Dakota Johnson, and Christian Grey, played by Dornan

Gray was originally going to be played by Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam, but he left the role shortly before filming was set to begin.

“It was strange because then you think there’s a bit of ridicule going on here and I’m contractually doing two more now, knowing there was more of that damnation to come.”

Fifty Shades of Grey, like the 2011 novel on which it is based, explores the sadomasochistic relationship between college graduate Anastasia Ana Steele and the enigmatic tycoon Christian Grey.

Although the film was a huge commercial hit, grossing over five hundred million dollars at the international box office, it was savaged by critics.

Dornan, who went on to critical acclaim for his leading roles in Belfast and The Tourist, said he had no regrets about making the thriller, even though he was constantly reminded of its shortcomings.