Dakota Johnson described her experience filming the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy in an interview with Vanity Fair. When Johnson, then 23, auditioned for the role of Anastasia Steele for the 2015 film, she read a monologue from Ingmar Berman's 1966 classic Persona, leading her to believe the experience and film would be "really special." On-set problems, stemming from issues with the studio, directors, and the book’s author E.L.