Over the past week or so, Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam has faced his fair share of backlash for landing the groundbreaking role of Christian Grey in the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey.

It was initially rumored that the 33-year-old would be giving up his role amid a supposed petition going around that requested his removal.

However, while it appears as though Hunnam will be keeping the role, it turns out he was initially torn on whether to accept it or not.

SOA executive producer Kurt Sutter recently dished to Zap2it about the star's initial qualms, as the two had conversations about it in the past.

"We had a couple long creative conversations about what the role was, what it meant. He struggled with it because obviously there's a lot of noise around that role," he said.

The EP also acknowledged the overwhelming amount of responsibility such a role would entail, saying that he encouraged Hunnam to focus more on the material as opposed to the limelight.

"There's a lot of predetermined expectations. At the end of the day, and my advice to him was, 'Look at the material. Don't look at the history. Don't look at where it potentially could be going. Look at the material and look at the people you're working with. If it makes sense, then move forward. I think that's what he did. It was a very thoughtful process, I think based on all the right decisions. It was not about notoriety. It was not about money. So I think it's cool, man," Sutter added.

Fifty Shades of Grey is scheduled to launch in theaters on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2014.

Charlie Hunnam Contemplated Giving Up Christian Grey Role Amid Petition By 70,000 Fans? [NEWS & Details]