'Fifty Shades of Grey' Movie Casting: Chace Crawford Latest Favorite For Role?

The "Fifty Shades of Grey" rumor mill continues to churn over who will ultimately be given the part of the S & M-crazed billionaire Christian Grey. Chace Crawford of "Gossip Girl" is the latest name to come up in a long list of actor hopefuls for the highly-coveted role.

At 27-years-old, Crawford is the same age as the Christian Grey character.  While he's hardly being considered as strongly as some of the other candidates, Cosmopolitan magazine did list him as one of their "9 Guys Who Should Play Christian Grey."  The television star also made the cut for IMDB's "My Christian Grey Nominees" list. 

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Crawford, who plays Nate Archibald in "Gossip Girl," is described by the series as "the perfect 'Golden Boy' of the Upper East Side, always being fought over by the prominent female characters."  With his 6 foot stature, toned physique and blue eyes, the actor possesses some of the key attributes that are required for the highly coveted role.

Other potential suitors for the main role include "Gangster Squad's" Ryan Gosling, "Man of Steel's" Henry Cavill and "White Collar's" Matt Bomer, amongst many other qualified actors.

The sexually explicit "Fifty Shades of Grey" storyline revolves around recent college graduate Anastasia Steele, who gets herself caught up in a dominant and submissive sexual relationship with the rich and kinky Grey.  Through an "agreement," they both explore the world of bondage and masochism

Up until this point, E.L. James and her producers attached to the future film have remained tight-lipped on the casting process. Only time will tell who eventually walks away with the highly-anticipated role of Grey and just who will play his sexual partner, Anastasia Steele.

Focus Features and Universal Pictures had purchased the rights to the "Fifty Shades" feature earlier in the year.  The saucy erotica has now sold over 20 million copies to date.