25 Interesting Facts about Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Gray1. Jaime Dornan who plays Christian Grey was a Calvin Klein Underwear model. In the book, Christian Grey wears Calvin Klein boxers which incidentally Jaime Dornan modeled.

2. Though Jaime Dornan is better known for his BAFTA Award winning role on television’s “The Fall”, viewers fell in love with him when he played The Sheriff in ABC’s first season of “Once Upon a Time”.

3. For script security, those initially auditioning for Christian Grey had been asked to prepare a scene from another film. Dornan chose a scene from True Romance for his audition.

fifty shades movie (16)4. For the final casting of Christian Grey, Jaime Dornan was the last actor for the day to read lines with Dakota Johnson.

5. Fifty Shades of Grey was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia.

6. Because of the books’ ubiquity, filming was under the title “The Adventure of Max and Banks” (Max is the name of James’ dog, and Banks is the name of Marcel’s pup) to avoid curiosity from the audience.

7. The Heathman Hotel scenes were filmed at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

fifty shades movie (18)8. Washington State University was filmed at the University of British Columbia, which was dressed with appropriate WSU school S.W.A.G. and 500 collegiate-looking extras.

9. Ana and Christian’s first date at the coffee shop was shot in location in Gastown, a section of downtown Vancouver, British Columbia.

10. Clayton’s Hardware Store, where Ana works while in college, is actually located about 45 minutes outside of Vancouver in a little town called Ladner.

fifty shades movie (19)11. In the movie, a glass-enclosed swimming pool took the place of the boathouse from the book that Christian shows Ana, following dinner with his family.

12. Paintings by noted artists Ed Ruscha and John Baldessari to display in the Grey office spaces.

13. Art works by Rob Pruitt, Peter Millett, Allan Switzer, Brent Comber, Chris Shepherd, Marta Barisca, Michael Joo, Harland Miller, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Gary Hume, Rodney Graham, Gerda Lattey, Farik Aldin, Arno Kortschot, Georgie Hopton, Gary Aylward and Eric Blum were used in the movie.

Fifty Shades of Grey14. All critical sets were constructed from scratch—specifically, all of Christian’s penthouse to include the living room, kitchen, dining room, his bedroom, Ana’s bedroom—the white bedroom—not to mention the all-important Red Room.

15. The look of Christian’s penthouse was inspired by the works of famous architects Norman Foster, John Parson and, possibly, the unanimous favorite, the American, Hugh Newell Jacobsen.

16. In the movie, all of the clothes worn by Jaime Dornan were custom-made for him. All the suits were handmade, all shirts were custom, every shoe was top of the line.

17. Christian Grey’s infamous and notorious silver tie used in the movie were specifically designed and painstakingly constructed by hand.

Fifty Shades of Grey18. Christian Grey does not refer to labels when it comes to neck ties. He refers to them by country of origin. He calls the silver tie his “French tie.”

19. The Bollinger, the celebration champagne when Ana graduates, was a very rare bottle of vintage.

20. The antique tea cups that Ana and Christian used to drink the Bollinger were 100 years old and made by a company that does not exist anymore.

21. The first edition of Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the d’Urbervilles,” published in 1891 used in the movie is genuine.

22. Christian’s library was outfitted with books dealing with emerging technologies (e.g., Tesla) and technological/design innovators (e.g., Michelangelo). Also included were books that deal with green issues and new scientific processes for informational systems…hardly Thomas Hardy, but just as telling about his character as “Tess” is about Ana’s.

23. Just like in the book, Christian’s car of choice is the Audi. The movie features the R8 (sports car), the S8 (sedan cruiser) and the brand-new A3.

24. The latest model of the Audi A3, which was not available yet for retail purchase during the filming, was used.

25. The latest EC130 helicopter was used for “Charlie Tango”, Christian’s helicopter. It is the largest helicopter that may be privately owned, at a cost of around $2 million.