Johnson, who nabbed the lead role as Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie trilogy at just 23 years old, admitted: “I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making.” When asked if she regretted taking on the role, Johnson told Vanity Fair: “If I had known at the time that’s what it was going to be like, I don’t think anyone would’ve done it. It would’ve been like, ‘Oh, this is psychotic.’ But no, I don’t regret it.” In her extensive new interview, Johnson goes into detail about making the three films, explaining that when she auditioned for the role, she read a monologue from the 1966 Ingmar Bergman film Persona, which is why she expected the movie to be similar. She added that her expectations also had a lot to do with the first draft of the script, which was revised by playwright Patrick Marber. But then things changed. Johnson was also originally set to star opposite Charlie Hunnam, when he dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, book author E.L. James — who reportedly had a lot of creative control over the films — became so angry that she scrapped the entire script and started over. Johnson shared, “It just became something crazy…I haven’t been able to talk about this truthfully ever, because you want to promote a movie the right way, and I’m proud of what we made ultimately and everything turns out the way it’s supposed to, but it was tricky.” Jamie Dornan was cast in Hunnam’s place, which was a step in the right direction, and Johnson began working with the first movie’s director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, to edit the script and weave back in some of Marber’s work. Johnson said that the one Marber scene they successfully restored was the contract negotiation in Fifty Shades of Grey, which she calls “the best scene in the whole movie.” Despite all the challenges, Johnson reiterated that she doesn’t regret doing the films. “Both Jamie and I were treated really well. Erika [E.L. James] is a very nice woman, and she was always kind to me and I am grateful she wanted me to be in those movies,” she said, adding, “Look, it was great for our careers. So amazing. So lucky. But it was weird. So, so weird.” Next, Is Dakota Johnson Like Her Fifty Shades Character?
