Jamie Dornan Tapped for Fifty Shades of Grey—Hollywood Reacts to His Rumored Casting

Actor will reportedly replace Charlie Hunnam in the movie, slated for release on August 1, 2014

By Zach Johnson Oct 24, 2013 11:39 AMTags
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Jamie Dornan hasn't officially been named the new Christian Grey, but the 31-year-old Northern Irishman has already been given a thumbs-up by a handful of Hollywood stars. Variety reported on Wednesday, Oct. 23, that the 6-foot actor has been offered the lead role in the film adaptation of author E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey, but as of now, he has yet to sign on the dotted line.

Of course, that didn't stop celebrities from weighing in online. Actress Kate Mara was the first to toast the hunk on Twitter. "Congrats to the sweetest person/scariest actor I know, @JamieDornan1 !!!!" the 30-year-old actress wrote. "#50ShadesOfGrey just got real. So fu$!in psyched. #blameIreland."

Josh Dallas, who costarred with Dornan on ABC's Once Upon a Time, would love to see Dornan replace Charlie Hunnam. ".@JamieDornan1 is my Mr. Grey. #50ShadesOfDornan," he tweeted.

Lena Dunham has been campaigning for Dornan on Twitter ever since his name was thrown into the casting ring. On Oct. 23, the star and creator of Girls couldn't contain her excitement. "I'm a monstrous @JamieDornan1 fan. Wasn't allowed to be attracted to him on The Fall bc he played a sexmurderer. 50 Shades is my big chance," she tweeted. "Wait, Christian Grey isn't a murderer right?"

Similarly, Elizabeth Banks Instagrammed a picture of all three Fifty Shades of Grey books. "I've had a crush on Jamie Dornan for a decade!" the Hunger Games: Catching Fire star captioned.

Novelist and screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis gave his seal of approval on Thursday, Oct. 24, telling his Twitter followers, "I think that Jamie Dornan is the perfect choice to play Christian Grey in FIFTY SHADES OF GREY. Smartest casting decision in a long time."

Dornan was considered to be the frontrunner to replace Charlie Hunnam after he auditioned on Friday, Oct. 18. "He had a really good read," said a source, noting that the studio wasn't "worried" about Dornan's chemistry with costar Dakota Johnson. "They think she could handle whoever the guy is."

James and producer Dana Brunetti have yet to comment on Dornan's reported casting via Twitter. A rep for Dornan has not yet returned a request for comment.

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