At the end of the day, I think we can safely say that Dakota Johnson came out of Fifty Shades of Grey with her career in better shape than Jamie Dornan. While FSOG was never going to be a critical darling, most people thought Dakota brought a lot of life to the Ana Steele role, while Dornan was basically a bump on a log. While Jamie, like Dakota, has seen his profile elevated and has gotten more offers because of FSOG, there’s still this vibe around him like he still needs to prove himself as an actor. And this news doesn’t help.
Surely you’ve already seen the commercials for Bradley Cooper’s new film, Burnt? It’s a story about B-Coop’s burn-out celebrity chef attempting a comeback and something something white male angst. The film has an excellent cast, including Emma Thompson, Alicia Vikander, Sienna Miller, Matthew Rhys, Lily James, Uma Thurman, Daniel Bruhl and more. Dornan filmed a small part. And just like Sienna’s role in Black Mass, the director cut Dornan out of the film.
Jamie Dornan broke out as a movie star earlier this year thanks to his starring role in Fifty Shades of Grey, and was expected to appear on the big screen again next month in Burnt. However, Dornan’s part in the film — about a chef’s second attempt at making it in the restaurant business — has been removed, EW has confirmed.
“In making every film, cuts and adjustments in storylines inevitably occur. In the case of Burnt, Jamie’s role was a small cameo that he was kind enough to do for us and was part of Sienna Miller’s character’s backstory,” Burnt director John Wells said in a statment to EW. “We ultimately decided to focus on Adam Jones’ redemption story.”
Bradley Cooper tackles the starring role of Adam Jones, a one-time chef prodigy who got his start in Paris at age 16. After a huge professional failure, Adam heads to London for a second chance. Sienna Miller plays Cooper’s love interest, who presumably had a past with Dornan’s character.
“I was thrilled to have Jamie,” Wells continued. “His performance was fantastic.”
I think it’s perfectly possible that we can take this story at face value, that Jamie’s performance was “fantastic” but edits needed to be made and so Dornan’s small storyline was jettisoned. I tend to believe that the director did make the decision to make the film all about B-Coop “emoting” and acting like a douche, because he plays variations on the same character in nearly all of his films. Let me guess, he cries on cue and acts crazy and stands around with his hands on his hips? Still, getting cut out of Burnt (produced by Harvey Weinstein) doesn’t bode well for Jamie or his ability to convince Hollywood that he can truly act.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Pacific Coast News, Fame/Flynet.
Actually, if you have ever seen the BBC’s “The Fall” you know Jamie Dornan can act. It is a great show and he is insanely creepy and scary in it.
Yes! I love The Fall. He & Gillian Anderson are great in it.
He was creepy as hell and I thought he was great in The Fall as well.
yeah, he’s good in the fall. I gave him a pass for 50 shades when I saw it cause he had to wear ripped ed hardy jeans and say dumb stuff so of course he looked ashamed he took it for his daughter’s college fund money…..
“he had to wear ripped ed hardy jeans”
Those jeans were the worst. And you know that the author made a big deal about those jeans being just like the old, ripped dad jeans described in the book. The fans must see bad jeans!
I wonder with she and and her husband taking over if they will now actually have a CGI floating manifestation of the “inner goddess” during the sex scenes.
omg, like casper the friendly ghost but shaped like a vulva instead! lol
@mia girl: From your mouth to Satan’s ear.
The Fall is really not a good gauge of his takent. Its just such an atmospheric show, between that, the sparse dialogue and the camera style, you would have to be a truly God awful actor to come off badly. His real test was always going to be his work outside the Fall and his first go (on 50 shades) was terrifyingly bad. He needs to blow his next project out of the water or else Hollywood will send him back.
The Fall is amazing. I can’t wait for more of it. His character was clearly human and vulnerable, but you never felt sorry for him. That’s an accomplishment, as you shouldn’t feel sorry for a man like that. So good, that show.
Yes, he can act, great series!
I also loved The Fall.
But I’d agree with Naya that it’s not a really good yardstick for judging his acting chops by. He’s playing a character that can’t interact properly with others. He could be genius at doing it but he could equally be a wooden actor. Same effect.
I’ve not seen 50 Shades and am unlikely to. But he was AWFUL in New Worlds: I’m afraid to say, wooden.
Good point. He wasn’t terribly expressive in that series. A bad actor could still pull off the creepiness.
I’ve seen The Fall. I still think he’s a bad actor.
How violent is The Fall? I think it’s rated TV-MA, but lots of “f” words can get it there, too, and I just hate watching violent stuff.
It’s not gory or anything, but it’s about a serial killer. So there is violence. Not every episode though. I think it’s very disturbing because it is so realistic. And it’s violence against random unsuspecting women.
He was great in the first season of Once Upon A Time and fans hated it when he dies.
Yep. Can’t wait for the third series of The Fall! He’s great on the show.
yes he was brilliant in that-never could understand why he did 50 shades of grade
I know this is a gossip site but why do you look for drama everywhere?
I agree. He didn’t have a small part, it was a cameo. So it’s not like it’s gonna affect his carreer. I’m pretty sure that the movie will tank at the BO anyway. I would be more worried for BCoop, it’s gonna be his second flop of the year.
If it tanks it won’t matter. Cooper is still riding the american sniper wave.
Jenna: Actually, it would be his 3rd flop of the year. Neither ‘Serena’ nor ‘Aloha’ did very well.
FingerBinger: As well as ‘American Sniper’ did, people in Hollywood are probably forgetting about that movie with each passing day.
Your comment made me laugh.
Why do you look for reason, if you KNOW you’re on a gossip site?
Well, Sienna got edited out of Black Mass, so guess it’s not so uncommon. And another cooking movie-? How is this one anything other than a “re-heating” (sorry, too good to pass up!) of Chef? Anyway- any idea as to when season 3 of The Fall starts?
Actors and scenes get cut from films all the time. Terrence Malick is notorious for doing it in his films.
“We ultimately decided to focus on Adam Jones’ redemption story.” The good ole redemption trope. Gotta love how many times they abuse it. It sells, though. As for this actor, after reading his comments about stalking a woman to prepare for a role– no, just no.
I think Cooper is a great actor who deserves all his accolades. I don’t get the snark directed at him here. Anyway I believe the director. It was reportedly just one scene for Dornan. I don’t think there’s any drama there.
I completely agree. BCoop seems like a weirdo but he’s one of the few current actors I’d call truly versatile.
“Jamie Dornan broke out as a movie star earlier this year”
No. No he didn’t. He absolutely did not. No way. His name is better known but we all know that just like Pattinson, Hemsworth, etc. outside his franchise his name alone cannot open a movie to “movie star” numbers. The movie star is close to death and concept/genre is king. The entertainment press is still living in the 1980s.
I’m beginning to think that maybe those 50 Shades of reshoots was due to Jamie Dornan and not Dakota Johnson.
That’s my educated guess, too.
Was there talk that it was to fix her performance? And yes, I can see studio demanding Dornan reshoots. Too bad it didnt work. Actually, scratch that….. too bad they made this movie.
“too bad they made this movie. ” And they’re going to keep churning them out until people stop paying for it. So the fault lies with the audience.
I would always ask to re-shoot him naked like 100 times if I was the director!! 🙂
I believe it was rumored that the reshoots was because of her lackluster performance in the (I think they’re called dailies? ). And I agree it’s a shame the movie was made. I still can’t believe I was talked into reading that book.
I say it’s cause bradley’s a horribly vain man with a lot of face work done recently and he got threatened being alongside jamie’s naturally pretty man face. I’m not a real fan of jamie, but he definitely has a pretty little punim.
Came here to say this, too. Also that test audiences probably found it unbelievable that the female lead would choose Bradley “rodent features” Cooper over Jamie Dornan.
Has Dakota Johnson even been in anything film or otherwise related since 50 shades? She still seems low on the radar and outside of the actual movie premieres I don’t recall her getting any special attention on a red carpet.
She is in Black Mass in the early part of the film and then nothing after that. She wasn’t super impressive in the role. I think she benefitted from meeting lower expectations in FSOG, but I am not seeing a really long career once the trilogy is done.
Someone about the same age like Jlaw or Emma Stone has charisma even in small roles, but she does not.
She actually did a movie called “Bigger Splash” with Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes, that seems a pretty interesting one. She also shoot another movie called “How to be Single”. So she keeps working doing good movies with actually good actors after FSOG.
@Fran- you and I think a lot alike! LOL!
I respectfully disagree that his role in The Fall is not a challenge. And it’s one he totally pulls off. And not enough credit goes to the actress who plays his wife- she was great as well.
He’s fantastic on The Fall. And Sienna getting cut from Black Mass was a blessing for her as the movie got slammed in Toronto. Maybe the same will be true for Jamie.
how come we haven’t seen any paps or gossip surrounding the new FSD movie filming?? are they not filming?? I thought the movie was supposed to be released early next year? I’ve been wondering if the silence on the topic means that the movie is slowly imploding. if so, yay!
I think they just hired a director, James Foley?
I bet this is one of those franchises where the sequels do increasingly worse at the box office. The curiosity factor is gone, lukewarm reaction to Christian, and this huge delay in the second one isn’t helping.
The shooting of Darker will begin only in January/February 2016…
I think Dornan is a fine actor. The character in the first 50 Shades book is exactly as he played him. I think that is what people are reacting to – because in other roles, he is most definitely not “wooden”. Perhaps, when Anthropoid and Jadotville come out, his talent will be appreciated. I’m also curious to see 50 Shades Darker with the new director and a new screenwriter.
Gotta love how the story of the female characters backstory getting discarded is presented as the struggle of the male actor who got cut.
Good point. Maybe they could get the movie to past the Bechdel Test*, at least.
* Rates films based on the criteria of containing at least two female characters who talk to each other about something besides a man.
Eh, he couldn’t win with FSoG: if he puts in a charming performance despite the patchy characterisation, he’ll be seen as endorsing and normalizing some kind of quasi-abusive personality. And if he doesn’t: he’s a log.
Dakota Johnson was always going to be in a better position, particularly when her character has the POV and the audience sympathy, and when the director made changes to give her character more assertion/agency.
From interviews I don’t think he’s in love with his character either, and it hasn’t helped that during most of the promotion he’s kind of looked embarrassed.
He was cast at the last minute, and while. I think he fits better on a superficial level than Charlie Hunnam, he probably got higher levels of cray than he expected.
However, it won’t hurt him in the longrun even if he disappears into obscurity. And he probably won’t.