Mark Wahlberg: I Wanted to Produce Fifty Shades of Grey, Brad Pitt Could've Played Christian Grey

Actor discussed the process in The Hollywood Reporter's Producer Roundtable

If Mark Wahlberg had his way, Fifty Shades of Grey would have been his.

But the actor wasn't eyeing the role of Christian Grey, he was interested in getting the rights to produce the film adaptation of the erotic novel.

During the Hollywood Reporter's Producers Roundtable, the 42-year-old explained that he was vying for the project from the get-go.

"I almost fired my agent Ari [Emanuel] over [Fifty Shades]—not because I wanted to play the part. We were aware of the book from very early on, and we were close to securing the rights, and then we get into this bidding war," he said.

"We were so close to having [it]. That was one of the few times I was going to fire Ari."

The film's producer, Michael De Luca, joked that the lead role in E.L. James' novel "looks a lot like Mark Wahlberg" in his eyes.

But that didn't resonate with the Hollywood star. He immediately quipped, "No, sounds like Brad Pitt to me."

And that's not the only time that Wahlberg mentions the father of six during the interview.

When asked about why he decided to go into producing films in the first place, Wahlberg revealed, "I wanted to produce because I was never going to get the script first. I had to wait for Brad Pitt to pass."

Hmmm…is there a man crush looming or is that a chip on his shoulder? We'll let you decide for yourselves.

Fifty Shades starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan is set to be released in theaters on Feb. 13. 

(E! and Universal Pictures are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)