Lucy Hale
Lucy Hale just landed a new project on The CW. Pictured: Lucy Hale at the 2014 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 2014. Reuters/Kevork Djansezian

Dakota Johnson may be the official Anastasia Steele to Jamie Dornan’s Christian Grey, but according to a new report, the "Fifty Shades of Grey" film’s female lead could have gone to one of ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars.”

In an interview with MTV News Tuesday, Lucy Hale, the 25-year-old TV actress turned country star, admitted to being one of many who auditioned for the erotica adaptation’s lead female role. “It actually was just me,” Hale said of her time spent trying out for the part of Ana, a 20-something college graduate and submissive to BDSM-practicing billionaire Christian Grey, sans a potential co-star.

While there may have been few witnesses to her audition, the TV star and “You Sound Good to Me” singer said the process was most awkward due to the script’s sexually explicit nature. “It was a two-page monologue of exactly what you would think it would be. Very uncomfortable,” Hale said, going on to call the meeting “unlike any audition” she has ever endured. “I don’t want my grandmother watching.”

Despite ultimately losing the role to Johnson, 24, Hale says she hopes she made a good impression. “It was sort of one of those things where you just had to go for it and you’re just gonna look lame,” she said. “Hopefully, I didn’t look lame.”

What made the ABC Family star go for such a risqué role? Reportedly, the idea of stepping outside of her family-friendly “Pretty Little Liars” character, Aria Montgomery, was the main motivation. “Mainly, I was just interested in doing something risky and doing something a little different than my character on ‘PLL’ so it took me out of my comfort zone,” Hale said. “I think any girl in my demographic would have loved to be a part of it.”

Hale, who is currently starring on Season 5 of ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars” (Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EDT), released her debut solo album “Road Between" June 3.

“Fifty Shades of Grey,” based on the best-selling E.L. James novel of the same title, is due in U.S. theaters Feb. 13, 2015. The film’s first trailer is expected this fall.