David Gandy has no "fight and perseverance" to become an actor.

The 45-year-old model does not want to compete in auditions and potentially face rejection to land roles - notably Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey movies, which ended up going to 43-year-old actor-and-model Jamie Dornan.

Speaking about Fifty Shades of Grey, David explained in The Observer Magazine: "No. Didn't consider it."

"I'm already in a competitive industry ... I didn't have the fight and perseverance to go to castings and get rejected again."

Another reason is that David - who was also offered parts in the 2014 action-war film 300: Rise of an Empire - was not keen on the idea of having no control over projects, which is something he has in the fashion industry.

The star said: "It might have been laziness, but I got to a certain point in the fashion industry where I didn't have to cast. And I was more in control.

"I didn't want to stop that."

In 2001, David became a model aged 21 after he won a contract with Select Model Management in a modeling competition on the UK TV show This Morning.

Since then, he has shown off his muscular build on 126 magazine covers and is a successful businessman with his eponymous brand.

And David - the highest-grossing male model in history - still says people think he is not bright because of being a model.

The star - best known for the 2007 advertising campaign for Dolce and Gabbana's fragrance Light Blue - said: "People automatically presume you are not particularly intelligent, or you don't actually do anything.

"And when you go into [meetings with] brands, I can see it in people's faces, 'Why are we listening to this guy from the photographs, looking at us in white pants?'"

David thinks it is tougher for people to get into modeling now, compared to when he started.

He said: "I feel a little bit sorry for [young] models, because they're expected to put their whole life on social media.

"I'm glad I didn't have to do any of that. And I wouldn't have done it. I still don't."