“Sons Of Anarchy” star Charlie Hunnam has been a controversial figure in recent weeks, but not because of anything his character has done on the hugely popular FX show; rather, for a role he’s taking in a movie that some people would prefer not to get made.

When it was announced that Hunnam would star as Christian Grey in the film adaptation of “Fifty Shades of Grey”, fans of the book lost their collective minds on social media, calling for a re-cast because they couldn’t see the tall, blonde hunk in the role at all. And for his “Sons” costars, the news came as a shock, too.

“When he told me that it was happening or that he was considering it I just howled. I mean I think we all did. We’re all like, what?” says Maggie Siff, who plays Hunnam’s onscreen wife Tara on the show. “And then I talked to him seriously about it. I think he’s very brave to it. He doesn’t do anything unless he feels it deep down. He’s not going to do something because all of his agents are telling him to do something. That’s what makes me think it stands a chance of being really, really great. If he has that conviction going in, then you know it’ll be great.”

Katey Sagal, who plays the lovely and badass Gemma Teller on SOA, says she’s proud of Hunnam for taking a role he really wanted without letting the chatter surrounding the movie get into his head…although that doesn’t mean she wants to see it. She does play his mother.

“I’m really proud of him,” she said. “The choice was not an obvious one for him. But for good or bad, he will throw himself 100 percent in. I don’t know if I want to see all that, but maybe.”

The actors spoke in an interview for the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, and they also talked a bit about the newest season, in which several characters get the ax. Creator Kurt Sutter gave some insight into Hunnam’s character, Jax, calling him “the anti-Clay”.

“The irony of the crown is you can’t necessarily sit at the head of that table and not become Clay,” Sutter said. “Although in Jax’s mind, he is the anti‑Clay. He’s doing everything for completely different reasons. But the truth is, the behavior is still the same…when you’re outlaws who live by a code of violence, can you really step away from the violence?”

Image: Entertainment Weekly