Meet Alessandro Proto, the Real-Life Inspiration for Christian Grey in ‘Fifty Shades’
At least, according to Alessandro Proto.
By Molly Fitzpatrick
Alessandro Proto is an Italian (+20 attractiveness points) real estate agent (-5) who couldn’t bring himself to read more than a “few pages” of Fifty Shades of Grey (+100). But that was enough for him to realize that the character of Christian Grey seemed awfully familiar — in fact, Proto believes that he served as the basis for E.L. James’ panty-dropping BDSM enthusiast.
The evidence is convincing. James met the 39-year-old Proto in 2010, when the author’s work took her to Italy. The pair spent two days traveling from Milan to Lake Como together. Compelling similarities between Proto and Grey include the names of their companies (Grey Enterprise Holding and Proto Organization Holding, respectively), their offices (on the top floor), and even their cars (both drive an Audi R8).
But Proto insists the S&M central to the novel is purely James’ invention, describing his own sexual proclivities as “old fashioned." Disappointing. Nevertheless, the hunky financier — who was, yikes, arrested last Valentine’s Day for market rigging — is rumored to make a cameo appearance in the upcoming Fifty Shades movie. Yes, please.
Image via Lettera43.