Jamie Dornan knew that critics would “despise” ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
Jamie Dornan, best known for his portrayal of Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, recently opened up about his decision to accept the iconic role that, while incredibly successful at the box office, faced harsh criticism from film critics.
“It wasn’t an instant yes by any means,” Dornan revealed. “It needed to be talked through. I sought counsel from friends, family, a lot of actors.” The actor’s concerns seemed rooted in a perception that already existed around the books by E. L. James, which the films are based on.
Speaking to the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he touched on the casting history, where he first lost out to Charlie Hunnam, who then ultimately dropped out. “When I didn’t get it, I felt a bit of relief because I knew that guy is going to get wrecked here.” He shared his knowledge of the films’ likely reception, explaining his expectation of the searing reviews.
“I knew that it came with all that baggage… that the reality was it would 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 were staying truthful to the books, and we knew what that would be.”
Despite the film’s poor reception, Dornan expressed gratitude for the opportunities it brought him and his co-star, Dakota Johnson. “Movies that are made for the fans that fans love can be seen as a success,” he added. “I’m grateful that Dakota and I have managed to come out and make work that people still like and have had some of those said critics do a bit of a 180.”
On a different note, when questioned about his history with superhero film auditions, Dornan spilt the beans about trying out for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. “The only one I auditioned for is Superman,” he said. “I wore my own suit there. They were Superman pyjamas, they weren’t an actual suit.”
Dornan joked about whether that impacted his chances for the role, explaining that he never got near putting on the actual suit for a screen test. In his latest project, Dornan stars opposite actor Gal Gadot in the Netflix action film Heart of Stone.
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