Charlie Hunnam wasn’t afraid of nude scenes in 50 Shades of Grey

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The actor has explained his ‘heartbreaking’ decision to drop out of the erotic thriller – but says getting naked had nothing to do with it.

Actor Charlie Hunnam has opened up about dropping out as the male lead of the E.L James adaptation – and the emotional toll his decision took.

Charlie Hunnam wasn’t afraid of nude scenes in 50 Shades of Grey

“Oh, it was the worst professional experience of my life,” Hunnam told V Man as he stripped of during a recent photo shoot.

“It was the most emotionally destructive and difficult thing that I’ve ever had to deal with professionally. It was heartbreaking.”

The Pacific Rim actor cited a demanding work schedule – including shooting the final season of his hit FX series Sons of Anarchy and his part in the film Crimson Peak – as his reasons for quitting the role.

However, he also wants to make clear that his decision was had absolutely nothing to do with the explicit sex scenes in the film – and to prove the point he referenced his breakout role in cult gay drama Queer as Folk.

Charlie Hunnam wasn’t afraid of nude scenes in 50 Shades of Grey

“The outside perception of that was that I got really cold feet and got scared of the explicit nature of the sexuality of the piece,” he says.

“When I was 18 I was getting f*cked in the ass, completely naked on national TV, you know?”

Charlie Hunnam wasn’t afraid of nude scenes in 50 Shades of Grey

Hunnam was recently unveiled as the newest actor to play the legendary King Arthur, after posing on the cover of Entertainment Weekly.

The reboot will hit screens next summer, and is directed by Guy Ritchie.