Fifty Shades of Grey movie: Thom Evans describes his Christian Grey audition as 'pretty tame'

The former rugby player lost out to The Fall star Jamie Dornan for the role

Former rugby player Thom Evans auditioned for the role of Christian Grey (Getty Images)

It’s already been criticised for its lack of sex appeal.

Now one of the actors who tried out for the role of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey has admitted that his audition was “pretty tame”.

Former Scottish rugby player Thom Evans has revealed that he auditioned for the part of the charismatic business man with a penchant for S&M.

“I actually went up for Jamie’s [Dornan's] role of Christian Grey. The audition was pretty tame to be honest, but it was a great experience for me,” Evans told Attitude.

The sports star lost out the part to The Fall actor Jamie Dornan but described him as a “role model”.

“It’s such a huge project and I’d be lying to say I wouldn’t have loved to have got the role. But I think Jamie is perfect for it and I can’t wait to see it,” he added.

The role of Christian Grey originally went to Charlie Hunnam but he pulled out due to work commitments on TV series Sons of Anarchy.

Northern Irish actor Dornan stepped in to play the role opposite Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele.

Footage from the forthcoming film was shown at the annual CinemaCon event for press back in March but received heavy criticism from people who said it was more romantic than sexual.

Dornan, too, has said that there will be no “gratuitous” full frontal nudity in the film, which seems to confirm that the focus will be on the love story between Christian and Anastasia.

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The adaptation of EL James’ so-called “mummy porn” novels has been directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and also stars Jennifer Ehle, Rita Ora and Marcia Gay Harden.

Fifty Shades of Grey will be released in cinemas on Valentine’s Day.