Jamie Dornan has admitted that he knew “critics would despise the Fifty Shades of Gray movies” before agreeing to star in it.
The Irish actor, 41, confessed that before taking on the role of bondage-obsessed billionaire Christian Grey, he knew the film would be a commercial success, but that it would “be ruined.”
Jamie became a household name when he starred in the 2015 film, with sequels Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
The movie star explained that it wasn’t an instant ‘yes’ when he was offered the lead role just five weeks before shooting was due to begin.
Jamie revealed that he turned to friends, relatives and “many” fellow actors for advice on whether to agree to star in the franchise, as he was very aware that there was “baggage” involved.
In the know: Jamie Dornan, 41, has admitted he knew ‘critics would despise the Fifty Shades of Gray films’ before agreeing to star in it
Lead role: Jamie became a household name when he starred in Fifty Shades Of Gray (pictured) in 2015, followed by Fifty Shades Darker in 2017 and Fifty Shades Freed in 2018
Real talk: The actor confessed that before taking on the role of bondage-obsessed billionaire Christian Grey, he knew he was going to be ‘wrecked’ (pictured in 2018’s Fifty Shades Freed)
Jamie discussed the cast for the franchise during an episode of the series Happy sad confused podcast which was recorded prior to the SAG-AFTRA attack.
On accepting the role, Jamie admitted, “It definitely wasn’t an instant yes. It needed to be talked about… I sought advice from friends, family and many actors.”
Belfast star Jamie wasn’t the first actor to be offered the role, with Charlie Hunnam originally starring opposite Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele.
But when Charlie pulled out at the last minute due to scheduling conflicts, Jamie was the next star in line, with the unexpected opportunity leaving him with mixed feelings.
Jamie explained, “When I didn’t get it, I felt a little bit of relief because I knew that dude was going to break down here. He (Charlie) may have felt the same way.
“Suddenly I was there, but with much less time to make a decision. I was cast five weeks before we started filming. I knew with all that baggage it came with, that the reality was that it was going to make a ton of money and the fans would love it and the critics would despise it.
“That’s what happened with the books and that’s what we were making. We stayed true to the books, and we knew what that would be.”
The actor added, “Movies made for the fans that fans love can be seen as a success. I’m thankful that Dakota and I managed to come out (in the years since) and make work that people still like, and that some of those critics mentioned did a bit of a 180.”
Mixed feelings: The movie star explained that it wasn’t an instant ‘yes’ when he was offered the lead role just five weeks before shooting was due to begin
In June 2022, Jamie’s co-star Dakota Johnson, 33, described making Fifty Shades of Gray as “psychotic” and stressed that the trilogy lacked the sexual intensity she envisioned when she agreed to star as Anastasia ‘Ana’ Steele to take on. .
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Dakota also explained how making the trilogy was complicated in part because the author of the books, EL James, retained creative control over the film adaptations.
She said, “She (James) had a lot of creative control all day, every day, and she just demanded certain things to happen.”
“There were parts of the books that just wouldn’t work in a movie, like the inner monologue, which was incredibly bland at times. It wouldn’t work to say it out loud. It was always a struggle. Always.
Dakota said of her three-movie contract, “It just got crazy. There were many different disagreements.
“I’ve never been able to talk honestly about this before, because you want to promote a movie the right way, and I’m proud of what we ended up making and everything is working out the way it should, but it was tough. ‘
When asked if she regrets starring, she replied, “No. I don’t think it’s a matter of regret. If I’d known… If I’d known what it would be like back then, I don’t think anybody would’ve done it.
“It would have been like, ‘Oh, this is psychotic.’ But no, I don’t regret it.’
While she doesn’t regret working on the racy movie franchise, the Texas-born star said the original movie she signed on for wasn’t exactly the one they ended up making.
She said, “I’m a sexual person, and if I’m interested in something, I want to know so much about it.”
“That’s why I made those big nude movies. I signed up to make a completely different version of the movie we ended up making.”