Tony-nominated actor�Billy Magnussen�is among a small group of men who have begun testing for the role of Christian Grey in the big-screen adaptation of�EL James’�Fifty Shades of Grey.

Universal Pictures and Focus Features restarted their efforts to fill the male lead after�Sons of Anarchy�star�Charlie Hunnamdropped out of the project Oct. 12. Their shortlist of possibilities includes�Magnussen and British actor�Jamie Dornan.

Sources say that both Dornan, the 31-year-old star of the U.K. series�The Fall, and the 28-year-old Magnussen, who was nominated for a best featured actor Tony this year for�Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, tested with director�Sam Taylor-Johnson�on Friday. They read opposite female lead�Dakota Johnson.

The studio is looking to move fast, given that the film is scheduled to begin production Nov. 1 in order to meet an Aug. 1, 2014, release date.

Magnussen, an American actor, is scheduled to shoot HBO’s�David Milch�pilot�The Money�in the next few weeks, but sources say his schedule could be worked out for�Fifty Shades. He would be a departure for the mostly British production. James, Taylor-Johnson and writer�Kelly Marcel�all are U.K. natives, as is Hunnam.

Magnussen isn’t afraid to take over a project after another actor falls out. He replaced�Jake Gyllenhaal�as Rapunzel’s Prince in Disney’s musical�Into the Woods.