The 34-year-old actor dropped out in the early planning stages for the film adaptation of EL James' best-selling 'Fifty Shades of Grey' books, reported the New York Daily News.
"I felt like I had an interesting take on that character and felt like I could have done a good job of playing Christian Grey, otherwise I wouldn't have taken it on in the first place.
"When you put the time into something like that and a character comes alive in your mind, it's heartbreaking not to be able to play him. It was definitely kind of heartbreaking having to say goodbye to that character and not bring it to life," he said.
"I'm sure he'll do a great job. I don't really know his work. But I know (director Same Taylor-Johnson) is amazing. She has fantastic taste so I'm sure he'll do a great job," he added.