Leonardo DiCaprio for Fifty Shades of Grey?! Yes, If Oliver Stone Was in Charge of Casting

"He'd make a fortune," the 67-year-old director said

By Alyssa Toomey Oct 16, 2013 5:58 PMTags
Oliver Stone, Leonardo DiCaprioWireImage; Startraksphoto

And the search for Christian Grey continues.

While hottie Jamie Donan is reportedly the new frontrunner for the role in the film adaptation of E.L. James' erotic thriller Fifty Shades of Grey after Charlie Hunnam dropped out of the S&M flick, director Oliver Stone has another leading man in mind: Leonardo Dicaprio.

Speaking with the Wall Street Journal, the outspoken director, whose most recent movie was 2012's Savages, admitted he's "so out of the loop on feature films," but still had something to say when it came to the Fifty Shades casting shake-up.

The Great Gatsby star was the 67-year-old director's first choice for title role of Seattle-based billionaire Christian Grey, despite DiCaprio being 10 years older than James' character in the BDSM novels.

"He'd make a fortune," Stone said. 

Over the weekend, fans were shocked when Hunnam suddenly dropped out of the scandalous film, although a source tells E! News the 33-year-old stud's decision was "not a surprise."

"What he was taking on with this role was not what Charlie wants in his future career," the source revealed exclusively to E! News.

"The attention and the pressure was intense," the source explained. "More than anything he hates attention and being in Fifty Shades of Grey would force him to do lots of media. That's really not his thing. Charlie doesn't want to be massively famous. Plus, he hates conforming and being told what to do. This role would force him to have to be something he is not."

And while the studio searches for a new leading man as the film's reported Nov. 5 start date quickly approaches, it seems that Dakota Johnson, who is set to play Anastasia Steele, is sharing Charlie's sentiments.

"Dakota is having a very hard time dealing with all the press," a source told E! News. "When she first got the role, it was way too much for her."

Stephen Lovekin, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The studio has yet to make any further announcements in regards to who will take Hunnam's place.

Matt Bomer, Ian Somerhalder, Ryan Gosling, Alex Pettyfer and Alexander Skarsgard were among many actors who were originally rumored to be up for the role.

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