Mysterious '50 Shades of Grey' character Christian Grey was based on Italian rea

Posted by FiftyShades on February 19th, 2014

Although Christian Grey might be a fictional character, there is ample reason for us to believe that there is a flesh and blood inspiration in real life behind this self made entrepreneur. A new fact has surfaced about the “Fifty Shades...” according to which the inspiration behind the dark and brooding Christian Grey is actually a 39 year old real estate agent. The real estate agent, Alessandro Proto is, like Grey, a self made billionaire and has even helped celebrities like Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna find their dream homes.

Now, you must be wondering, how does Erica James feature in all this? She actually met the enigmatic businessman back in 2010, which one year before her erotic novel, The Fifty Shades of Grey, hit the market and became a phenomenal success. She met Proto in Italy, when she was touring the country to gather information about celebrities and their love for property in Italy. During that time, James and Proto spent two days together when they toured from Milan to Lake Como.

When the real estate agent/ businessman was quizzed about him being the inspiration behind the fictional Christian Grey, Proto could actually draw up a list of similarities. For starters, he revealed that the name of the company Grey owns is named Grey Enterprise Holding, whereas, the name of the company Alessandro Proto owns is Proto Organization Holding. The similarity does not end here, as the real estate agent added that when he met Erica James back in 2010, he drove an Audi R8 and readers do not have to be reminded that Christian Grey too, owns an Audi R8 Spyder.

When talking about the metaphorical similarities between him and Fifty Shades Movie Christian Grey, Proto adds that his office on the eight floor of the building, which is the top most floor and when it comes to success, though every knows the destination both Proto and Grey have reached but they do not know anything about the journey that they have had to undertake. But if you think that like all these similarities, there is also a BDSM-loving streak in Proto, you might be a little discouraged.

When specifically asked about the red room of pain, which is definitely one of the main attractions of the novel, Proto adds that it was all made up; he is an old fashioned guy. Erica James’ imagination has a lot to do with the red room of pain in the trilogy she penned. One other factor that is probably a similarity between him and Grey is that, like his fictional counterpart, proto too is media shy and does not interact too much with the media. This is very similar to the successful entrepreneur Grey portrays on the pages of the novels and now the screen, and it also contributes to the enigmatic and mysterious quality of the character.

Ever since Proto has been named directly as the inspiration behind the lead character, he has revealed how work mail has been flooded with indecent proposals. Visibly annoyed, Proto has said that his main purpose in life is to be a businessman and he does not like to be embroiled in media and showbiz. Are you listening, Erica?