Hunnam, who was originally announced as having secured the role,
pulled out of the upcoming film at the weekend.
According to Radio Times, Bomer is currently in first place as 6/1 favourite to secure the role.
Matt Bomer, 35, is best known for his role as Neal Caffrey in the TV series, White Collar, which premiered in 2009. He has had roles in the films
Flightplan (2005),
In Time (2011) and, with Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer, in
Magic Mike (2012).
Other top contenders include, Cillian Murphy, who is currently second favourite, at 7/1, and Ian Somerhalder, who is at third with 8/1.
The
full rundown is as follows:
Matt Bomer 6/1
Cilian Murphy 7/1
Ian Somerhalder 8/1
Alexander Skarsgard 10/1
Crace Crawford 10/1
Alex Pettyfer 12/1
Garrett Hedlund 12/1
Wes Bentley 14/1
Robert Pattinson 14/1
Ryan Gosling 16/1
Bradley Cooper 20/1
Chris Pine 25/1
Liam Hemsworth 25/1
Brad Pitt 33/1
Matthew McConaughey 40/1
Hunnam's casting at the beginning of September
didn't go down well with many of the character's fans. However, the
reason given for his withdrawal from the project was that the 33-year-old's "immersive TV schedule [was] not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey."
In 2011, on Broadway, Bomer starred in Dustin Lance Black's play,
8, an American play that portrays the closing arguments of
Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal trial that led to the overturning of Proposition 8, an amendment that eliminated the rights of same-sex couples to marry in the US state of California.
Bomer, an out-gay man, was one of the
favourites to secure the role first time round and the original signing up of Hunnam brought to an end months’ worth of speculation and argument as to who would or should be cast. Last year, however, the author Bret Easton Ellis
caused consternation among many by declaring that a gay man could not possibly play the role of Grey.
Filming of
Fifty Shades of Grey — which is based on the E. L. James
novel of the same name — was due to start in November, with an expected release date of August 2014. If that is to still be so, a new casting announcement will need to be made very soon.
