Not long after the first three Fifty Shades books became a global craze, major film studios began the bidding war to secure movie rights for them. Universal Pictures emerged the winner and the trilogy certainly proved a great investment as the films went on to collectively gross over a billion dollars at the box office.
Even if you've never read the books, the immense popularity of the erotic drama series became a worldwide phenomenon. It started with Fifty Shades of Grey, with the two sequels quickly following in its success. By 2017, the original books by E. L. James had been retold from Christian Grey's POV, and interest in them was revived all over again. With rumors of further films and spin-offs seemingly always in the air, it's never a bad time to catch up on these titillating films, or relive the raunchy magic they created all over again.
Whether you're thinking of watching the films for the first or fiftieth time, here's a cast and character guide for the memorable characters from the Fifty Shades of Grey films, and the talented stars who dared to play them.
Dakota Johnson as Anastasia "Ana" Steele
Anastasia Steele (later Grey), who's better known as "Ana" in the films, is quiet and a relatively sheltered student with a penchant for British literature. She's very intelligent, focused on her goals, and works hard. Though she's naturally beautiful, she doesn't think of herself in this way and can be a little self-conscious about her looks.
Her quiet, normal life changes when she happens across Christian Grey, a famous billionaire who runs a vast empire, and is desired by women everywhere, but ultimately keeps his private life shrouded in mystery. Taken by her, Christian and Ana begin dating, underpinned by an unorthodox sadomasochistic sexual relationship that she mostly enjoys, but that sometimes also leads to tumultuous moments between them. While the pair grow to love each other a lot, Christian's mysterious and domineering nature (that extends beyond his famous red room), can be difficult to handle as Ana sometimes yearns for moments of normalcy.
Ana is played by the beautiful Dakota Johnson. Johnson is the daughter of fellow actors, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. While Dakota began her film career in 1999 and appeared in films like The Social Network and 21 Jump Street, it was her role as Ana Steele that catapulted her to global stardom.
Since her fame from the trilogy, she's been in films like Netflix's Wounds, and will soon be joining the Spiderverse as the title character in Marvel's upcoming film, Madame Web.
Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey
Christian Grey is the titillating male lead character from the films. A billionaire who runs a vast empire, his public image is that of a young, handsome, and successful businessman. However, Grey has a traumatic past that slowly unravels over time. In private, he has a dark side and secretly practices extreme versions of BDSM. He meets and falls for Ana, inducting her into his sexually enticing lifestyle, but ultimately falling in love with her too — something that helps soften his character a lot.
Christian is played by Jamie Dornan, a Northern Irish actor, musician, and model. Dornan was a successful model for major fashion labels such as Hugo Boss and Armani. His film career began in 2006 with a role in Marie Antoinette. After playing Christian Grey, he became one of the most desired men in the world.
He's since gone on to star in films like The Seige of Jadotville and Robin Hood, and most recently starred in the spy thriller, Heart of Stone alongside Gal Gadot. He's a multi-award-winning actor, mostly for his role in the critically acclaimed show, Belfast.
Eloise Mumford as Katherine "Kate" Kavanaugh
Kate is the best friend and roommate of Ana, who has always been a little more sexually adventurous than her until Ana meets Christian. The pair get along well, and Kate is usually Ana's go-to person for advice and a confidante. While out celebrating the end of finals together one night, Kate meets and starts dating Elliot Grey, who is Christian Grey's brother.
Kate is portrayed by American actress, Eloise Mumford. Eloise, aside from her role in the Fifty Shades films, is a well-known TV actress. She's notably had recurring roles on Lone Star and Chicago Fire.
Luke Grimes as Elliot Grey
Elliot Grey, like his brother Christian, is often desirable to women. He's described as tall and well-built, but has blonde hair and blue eyes, in contrast to Christian who has darker hair and gray eyes. Unlike Christian, he's also a lot more laid back, less serious, and far more on the affectionate side. He meets and begins dating Kate, with the pair going on to share a very serious relationship over time.
Elliot is played by Luke Grimes, an American actor who began making films with 2006's All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. Aside from his Fifty Shades fame, he's appeared in some great films such as American Sniper and The Magnificent Seven. He's also had a recurring role on the popular vampire show, True Blood, and is a part of the main cast of the hugely successful, Yellowstone.
Marcia Gay Harden as Dr. Grace Trevelyan Grey
Dr. Grace Grey is a Pediatrician and the adoptive mother of Christian Grey, and his siblings, Elliot and Mia. As Christian's dark past emerges, we learn that she treated Christian as a child after his abusive mother passed away from an overdose. She later adopted him and raised him.
Grace is played by the very talented actress, Marcia Gay Harden. Marcia was twice nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, winning the award for her role in Pollock. She's also won a Tony Award for God of Carnage and has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award four times. She's famous for acting in acclaimed films like Mystic River and shows like How to Get Away With Murder.
Viktor Rasuk as Jose Luis Rodriguez Jr.
Jose and Ana have been close friends since their freshman days in college. Ana sees him as the perfect guy, good looking, intelligent, while their fathers also served together in the military. However, despite all this, Ana has always thought of Jose as a friend, while it's pretty clear that he nurses an attraction and feelings for her. Christian, realizes this, and sees him as a romantic rival, so the pair often share some tense moments as a result.
Jose is played by Viktor Rasuk, a native of New York who was born to Dominican parents. He's been acting since 1999 and has appeared in other films such as 2014's Godzilla. He's also had a recurring role on Jack Ryan and is a part of the main cast of The Baker and the Beauty.
Rita Ora as Mia Grey
The sister of Christian and Elliot Grey, and the adoptive daughter of Dr. Grace, Mia Grey is known for her cheerful disposition and bubbly nature. Like her siblings, she's also blessed in the looks department, and is also very accomplished as she speaks multiple languages and studied cooking in Paris.
Mia is played by the beautiful Rita Ora. Rita is of course a famous British pop star with multiple hit songs, such as Black Widow and For You from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack. She's won many music awards and also appeared in a few other movies and TV shows such as Fast & Furious 6, and Pokemon: Detective Pikachu.
Max Martini as Jason Taylor
Jason Taylor is the head of Christian Grey's security team and often doubles as a chauffeur. He likes Ana a lot, is loyal to a hilt, and is a trusted bodyguard. Ana takes a liking to him too for his loyalty and professionalism, and reminds her of her father who, like Jason, was also in the military.
Jason is played by Max Martini, an American actor who's been around since the '80s. He's had appearances in many acclaimed films such as Saving Private Ryan and Captain Phillips. He's also appeared across multiple seasons of The Unit and has a recurring role on Bosch: Legacy.
Andrew Airlie as Carrick Grey
Carrick Grey is Dr. Grace's husband and the adoptive father of the Grey children. He was a successful lawyer and businessman. While he shows up a little more prominently in the books, his roles in the films are minimal.
Carrick is played by Canadian actor, Andrew Airlie. Scottish-born, Andrew's appeared in films such as Look Who's Talking Now and has guest starred on many popular sci-fi shows such as The X-Files and Fringe.
Kim Basinger as Elena Lincoln
Also known as "Mrs. Robinson," Elena Lincoln is a key player in the Fifty Shades books and films. She's Christian's business partner, but as his past unravels, it emerges that she was also the person who first introduced him to the BDSM lifestyle he sank so deeply into as an adult. The main antagonist of the story, Elena seduced Christian when he was a teenager, and was his Domme for six years.
When Ana learns all this, she disagrees with Christian that Elena was good for him as she helped take his focus off drinking and the destructive path he was on. Ana feels that she took advantage of a traumatized kid, and believes this may have caused him even more psychological damage than his early childhood did. Elena secretly still wants Christian and uses her continued friendship with him to antagonize Ana.
Elena is played by Kim Basinger. Basinger is a very famous actress and, as a sex symbol of the '80s and '90s, she fits the role of Elena brilliantly. She's known for her many major film appearances over the years such as in Michael Keaton's Batman, and in acclaimed films like L.A Confidential, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Jennifer Ehle as Carla May Wilks
Carla is Ana's mother. While she married Ana's father while she was pregnant with her, he died in combat shortly after, and only ever held his daughter once. Carla would go on to remarry three times. The first of these marriages was to Raymond Steele, who was in Ana's father's unit. That marriage lasted many years, and Raymond is the man that Ana considers to be her father.
Carla is played by Jennifer Ehle, an American actress who has won two Tony Awards, a BAFTA, and a Screen Actor's Guild Award. She's appeared in many major films, with notable credits for movies like Zero Dark Thirty, The King's Speech, and 2014's Robocop, aside from her many TV show appearances.
Callum Keith Rennie as Raymond Steele
An ex-military man, Raymond Steele married Ana's mother when she was a baby and helped raise her. Despite being her stepfather, Ana considers him to be her "real father". While he and Carla later divorced, Ana remained close to him and even went to live with him. Raymond was portrayed by Callum Keith Rennie, an acclaimed Canadian actor who's appeared in films like Blade: Trinity and Jigsaw.
Eric Johnson as Jack Hyde
Jack Hyde was Ana's boss before she met Christian. Like Christian, he also came from a dark past and was in the same foster home as him. Though he managed to overcome his past and build a successful career for himself, he's always been bitter that the Grey family adopted Christian instead of him, and becomes an antagonist as a result.
Jack is played by Eric Johnson. Johnson is also a Canadian actor. He's best known for playing Flash Gordon in the show of the same name between 2007 and 2008. Additionally, he's also been a part of the main cast of Vikings and had a recurring role in American Gods.
Bella Heathcote as Leila Williams
Leila Williams was a former submissive of Christian's before he met Ana. They shared this kind of relationship for a while but Christian ended it when Leila wanted more out of the arrangement. Unlike with Ana, Christian only saw their relationship as a contractual one to fulfill his BDSM needs.
She was played by Bella Heathcote, an Australian actress who's been in films like Johnny Depp's Dark Shadows, and recently landed the main role in the thriller series, Pieces of Her.
Amy-Price Francis as Elizabeth Morgan
Elizabeth is the head of personnel at the Seattle-based publishing company where Ana used to work. Although she seems helpful and attentive to Ana's needs at the office, it later emerges that she's one of the accomplice antagonists. In her appearances in the films, she's known as Liz.
Elizabeth was played by Amy-Price Francis. Francis is a British-Canadian actress who's been around the acting world since the late '90s. She's appeared in films like The Purge: Anarchy and shows like Californication, and had the main role in the Canadian procedural show, King.