I’ve been steadily falling for Jamie Dornan ever since he admitted to kissing a horse, knowing full well he was highly allergic. It’s like some reverse Pepé Le Pew moment where he was smitten with the repellent partner. Then my emotions kicked up a notch when we learned he had to be hospitalized after being bitten by toxic Portuguese caterpillars during a golfing vacation. So while the rest of the world may be hung up on his heartthrob status or (underrated) acting chops, I’m waiting for word of Jamie’s next close encounter with the animal kind.
One aspect Jamie might appreciate about my peculiar focus on him is that I come to the table with no opinion on his role in the Fifty Shades franchise. Christian Grey seems to haunt him, as the part is addressed in basically every interview he gives. For those who need the refresher, the film came out in 2015. Jamie just appeared on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs podcast, and this time he talked about hiding out in the country when the bad movie reviews started pouring in:
During an episode of BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs” published Sunday, the actor revealed he “hid” as “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the film adaptation of E.L. James’ popular romance novel, was receiving an onslaught of negative reviews in 2015. Critics largely panned the movie, which earned a 25% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Amid this negativity, Dornan weathered the storm at director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s house.
“We went to Sam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron (Taylor-Johnson), her husband, their place, and they weren’t there,” he said. “They let us have their place in the country, and we sort of hid there for a while and shut ourselves off from the world for a bit.”
Despite the poor reviews, “Fifty Shades of Grey” was a hit at the box office, grossing over $500 million worldwide and leading to two sequels, released in 2017 and 2018. Dornan recalled it was a strange sensation for him to receive so much mockery for a movie that was also wildly successful.
“Then you’re like, ‘Alright, there’s a bit of ridicule here, and I’m now contractually doing two more of them,’” he said with a laugh. “And knowing that there’ll be much more of that damnation to come.”
But Dornan stressed that he doesn’t regret taking on the role of Christian Grey opposite Dakota Johnson, although he bemoaned that the role is still often brought up, even when he’s receiving positive reviews for other projects. “A lot of reviews are like, ‘He’s great, but lest we forget when he wasn’t great here,’” he joked.
Since the “Fifty Shades” trilogy ended, Dornan has gone on to star in numerous acclaimed projects, including Kenneth Branagh’s 2021 romantic drama “Belfast,” which was nominated for seven Academy Awards. He received a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor in 2022. In 2023, Dornan reunited with Branagh on the mystery “A Haunting in Venice,” which received mostly positive reviews.
I can’t tell if interviewers simply won’t stop bringing up Fifty Shades, or if it’s Jamie who feels compelled to apologize for it. For the rest of his life, it would seem. But he shouldn’t feel the need to go into witness protection for a film character! He’s said in the past that he’s still “paying penance” for playing Christian Grey, and to still be talking about it nearly 10 years later… Honey, stop punishing yourself! You need all your strength for when you cross paths with a moose who gives you hives! (I’m just spitballing here, surprise me with the next creature confrontation.) But Jamie has been candid lately about his self-doubt, and in another part of this podcast he said “I’m happier with my self-doubt because it always gives you something to try to prove.” Is this a sensible pep talk, or not giving yourself a break?
Side note: when the book Fifty Shades of Grey first came out my aunt warned us against it right away. “Not because of the p0rn. Because of the prose!”
Photos credit: Mattpapz/Backgrid, Getty, Avalon.red, Cover Images and via Instagram
Your aunt was right.
I love Jamie Dornan interviews. He’s funny, tells a good story, and definitely doesn’t take himself seriously.
She was, as was my local librarian, who was not happy they had to carry it. Off topic, she was also right about Hillbilly Elegy.
I love Dornan, too, and remember being disappointed/enraged those films were even being made and wishing he’d have nothing to do with them.
Curious did she not like Hillbilly Elegy? I had heard good things and was looking to read it. Should I skip it?
Definitely skip Hillbilly Elegy, unless you like opportunists who offer extreme judgements, negligible insights and zero solutions to issues he’s claiming to understand.
The writing is what ruined it just like Twilight. It’s like giving a subpar writer a pen and watching them turn it into a crayon. Just juvenile trash. The only thing that was a turn on was the ending credits.
@Lolamd, fwiw, I thought the first part of Hillbilly Elegy was a well done description of the types of lives and communities that often don’t get much attention or accurate descriptions in more mainstream media. The second half or so of the book reads like a political screed — to the point where I checked the notes a few times while I was reading it, convinced that it must have been written by another author. I also finished the book with a less than positive impression of Vance’s character and priorities— that his subsequent political activities and stance have only reinforced.
I think it’s worth reading — albeit with extremely critical eyes. I can highly recommend Heartland by Sarah Smarsh as an excellent book that looks at some similar aspects of American cultures and communities.
@Kaiser: your aunt was right, I skimmed through the first ten pages in Barnes & Noble and literally threw it back on the book table like it was something toxic. I’ve never read a more galactically idiotic piece of crap in my life.
Kudos to you. I only made it through the first three pages.
@Carmen–five pages was my limit. Reading that was like having Crazy Glue simultaneously poured into my frontal lobes. And that’s before you get into the godawful sexual politics–and the heroine being rock-stupid. 🤮
It’s books like this that make writers wonder if the publishing industry isn’t just punking everyone. If they figure they can do better and they write something good, they get a “nice, but doesn’t suit our needs.” rejection. If they try to be on-trend–and write as bad or worse–they just get rejected. Then they feel like crap for letting their talent down.
Oh, Fifty Shades was the worst, most hilariously awful book ever. And it wasn’t even original since it was literally Twilight fanfiction brought to life. I give Jamie Dornan credit for making the character at least a little more bearable than the book was. The movies are pretty ridiculous, but I think he did his best with what he had to work with.
My mom has been an avid romance reader for decades, from the 70s when the heroine was almost always raped (Rosemary Rogers, what was going on in those books?) to now and her Nora Roberts collection. I asked her about 50 Shades and she was like, “its not that its smut. It’s that its bad smut.”
So I said something about her not being able to finish it and she said “oh no, I finished it. Every page.” LOLOLOL.
I tried to read it…..I got 3 pages in. Steel and gray and gray and steel……lordy the drivel. So poorly written.
I feel the same way about the movie….my H and I tried to watch it thinking it could be a good date night movie. I think we turned it off about the same part where I stopped reading because it was just SO BAD. SO BAD. The acting was awful, the camera work was bad, the script was bad, etc.
Jamie Dornan was fantastic in Belfast though so I feel he has moved on well enough lol.
Oh my goodness, I haven’t thought of Rosemary Rogers in years. My mom had a copy of The Insiders and I remember sneaking away to read it. And well I should have been hiding, I was in 7th grade in the late 1970s, for goodness sake. Holy buckets!
Pretty sure if you look up “cringe” in the dictionary, it says, “see painful and overwrought writing in 50 Shades of Grey”
I also picked it up at Target and was baffled at the hype.
As a longtime Agatha Christie fan I HATED ‘A Haunting in Venice’. The film bore no resemblance to the book, with characters and motivations changed completely. There is only one screen Hercule Poirot for me and that is David Suchet…He’s exactly how I imagined him to be as I read the books.
I’ve avoided the previous two Branagh due to casting choices and went into this with an open mind knowing it was an adaptation not a re-telling of the original story and reminding myself not to be a purist. But no, I still didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t not like it but it’s not something I’ll ever watch again.
Good job we still have the full box set of all the Suchet Poirot episodes on DVD!
Heh. I’ll never understand why Branagh seems to want to die on this particular acting hill. He’s never been quite right for Poirot. Suchet straight-up owns this role. (Finney and Ustinov were no slouches either.) And some of the character choices–like that awful lost love business, and Poirot constantly driving away/losing his associates–are not helping the cause.
Love the multicultural casting, which is more historically realistic than Christie’s Anglophilic world. And for the most part, the franchise’s set design and costumes are gorgeous. But this Poirot is way too grim and “heavy” emotionally to be much fun.
I love Branagh in general. But he is a bad poirot. It’s like he’s a parody of the character or something.
I’ve loved a lot of Branagh’s work–in particular Dead Again, ’cause I love noiry thrillers. 😈 But he is putting way more dramatic weight on Poirot than the latter was meant to bear.
He signed on, he did his job, he made some good money to secure his future. I’m not going to bash the guy for the rest of time for it.
Let him move on. He has a sense of humor about it all and he’s been able to find other roles. Fair enough.
I could not finish book 1. Not seen the movies.
Why isnt jamie doing a cute rom com? Or has he? I want to see his face more. Im tired of the same hollowood faces
He plays a hitman who just wants to be loved in Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar with Kristen Wiig. It really shows his comedic range and that he doesn’t take himself too seriously.
There’s also Wild Mountain Thyme with Emily Blunt.
Thank you for bringing up Barb and Star. I love that movie and recommend it often. In my immediate family we laugh, or introduce levity when needed, by singing “boobies on vacation…” I read the credits and Kristen Wiigg wrote the song.
I’m also a fan of Barb and Star. That was my first Jamie Dornan film, and I, too, recommend it often.
I couldn’t get through the first pages of Fifty Shades, and never understood what the fuss was about, so I didn’t bother with the film.
I’m with you, would love to see more of him.
Brit actors don’t really do rom coms if they don’t have to. I feel like it’s more of an American thing that all the ‘Ryan’s’ and ‘chris’s’ do for the massive paycheque rather than the story. Brit actors like, rob pattinson, Andrew Garfield, Jamie, Eddie redmayne will usually do a major franchise to get their name out there, but then focus on more interesting artistic work, rather than cheesy rom coms. Hollywood actors seem more polished with perfectly straight teeth and 6pack and tan, whilst brits in Hollywood still like to walk around looking homeless whilst talking about whatever weird interesting book they are reading. But that’s just my observation.
Seeing how embarrassed Jamie still is of doing 50 shades, goes to show how important it is for an actor to do something they are passionate about. But I guess at the time he didn’t really have a choice in his roles.
Have to defend Ryan Gosling here–he was terrific in “All Good Things” as a sociopathic heir based on Robert Durst. He’s made some interesting choices. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Good_Things_(film)
Here’s where I admit that I always get Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling confused. Like if they were side by side I could tell you who is who. But if you asked me which one was in Free Guy it would take me a minute to figure it out, lol.
Like there was a story last week about Eva Mendes defending Ryan Gosling and my first thought was, why is she defending Blake Lively’s husband?
@February pisces:
Jamie Dornan is from Ireland.
there is an excellent youtube series by Dan Olson / Folding Ideas, the first one called “A Lukewarm Defense of 50 Shades of Grey” & then 2 more after that. The ‘defense’ part is referring to the director & producer & other professionals who worked on the first film — NOT the source material which has almost no redeeming qualities. It’s super interesting & I’ve never even read the books or seen the films.
I’ve never laughed harder than while reading 50 Shades. So poorly written it is truly comical. One of my favorite clips is of Gilbert Gottfried reading a scene from it. But I digress…
Jamie Dornan is adorable.
It’s the kind of book that makes me feel like I could be a successful bestselling author, because if that book can sell millions of copies……
The books were horribly written and a true embarrassment to real writers. As a result, the movies sucked too. He should have known that the scripts was bad after the first one, but to then sign on to do two more?
Would love to see him in some better roles, even a rom com or two…
He was so, so fantastic in the miniseries “The Tourist.” It’s a very unique thriller. It was filmed in Australia. It was a big hit. He had moved his whole family there to film it. It was so popular they wanted to bring back a second season, but he only agreed if they filmed it in Ireland, which I believe is airing this year. You can watch series 1 on Netflix beginning today, February 1, I believe.
To add, I just looked. Netflix acquired the rights to stream The Tourist. So Season 1 drops on February 1, and then the new season, Season 2, will drop on February 29.
Thanks for the tip, looking forward to checking out The Tourist!
@Stef, it’s an odd duck of a series, but I pretty much enjoyed it. It’s funny at times, very dark at times and sometimes you have to suspend disbelief. I remember one episode was slow. But he really shines in it.
Where I first knew of him was from The Fall with Gillian Anderson. Season 1 was brilliant. He was really believable as a family guy who appears normal, but who is living an alternate life as a serial killer. You’ve probably seen that.
It’s pretty standard practice to put sequels in Hollywood contracts, especially if the actor isn’t a big star when the first contact gets negotiated. If the studio decides to make sequels, the actors are pretty much contractually obligated to do them. Exhibit A: Roy Scheider in Jaws II. Exhibit B: Sandra Bullock in Speed 2.
I read all the books and I saw the first film. I didn’t think the books were bad, they were good enough to keep my interest in the story. Certainly not the best books I’ve ever read but so what. The movie was better than I thought it would be, not to kill a mockingbird caliber but I didn’t expect it to be that anyway.
‘He’s great, but lest we forget when he wasn’t great here,’”
LOL aw poor dude. That’s gotta suck to have every subsequent piece of work you do tainted by that one terrible series. And as others have pointed out, the script was trash because the book was trash. The best actor on the planet couldn’t save that mess.
He is always whining about 50 Shades in every interview whereas Dakota seems to have moved on with her life. Get over it, dude.
Exactly. He needs to own his bad choices, which didn’t end with 50 shades.
He didn’t do himself any favours by subsequently appearing in “Wild Mountain Thyme” which was horrifically stage-Irish. Saw the trailer and thought it was set in the 1950s but it turned out to be set NOW!?!
Michael Caine after being asked about making some really awful movie….
Interviewer: Did you have any idea how bad it was?
MC: Yes, the script was terrible. But, you should see the lovely house it bought.
Gotta love Michael Caine ❤️
Jamie doing a job, getting paid.
That’s the right perspective from a guy who’s been in the business for a long time. Jamie, cash the check & don’t take it personally. There are plenty of good projects ahead for a talented guy.
LOL, he was referring to Jaws: The Revenge.
I read the 50 shades books and they were a bit of a guilty pleasure. I didn’t really like the films, I think Jamie and Dakota were suited individually but not together. They didn’t really have any chemistry. Plus the script wasn’t good. But I don’t blame Jamie for any of that, those films put him and Dakota on the map. Plus it’s a right of passage for Brit actors to break out doing a franchise whether they like the film or not, like Robert pattinson who I think secretly hates twilight. They just use the platform to do other films they are passionate about.
I read the books on a recommendation of a fun summer beach read book list – then all of a sudden it was everywhere. I thought the first two book were fun light BDSM fantasy porn. Because the hottest man in the world running a global corporation has just oodles of time to dedicate to a romance of sorts. The third book was just trash and a sad money grab and the most trope ending of every romance novel – married and pregnant.
I do wonder if the movies would have been a bit grittier if Charlie Hunnam had stuck with the role. But Jamie is my forever boyfriend, and I will watch him in anything.
And from what I read every young, hot actor in town auditioned for the role since it was a shoe in hit and pay day. He should just embrace it and move on. It hasn’t hindered his career at all. And he has done some interesting work in the last 10 years.
Replying to Kismet’s Creature Confrontation: What if he snorkeled with a giant squid and got scabies? (I like alliteration)
Jamie Dornan has done a rom-com and it was truly terrible! It was “Wild Mountain Thyme,” set in Ireland and co-starring Emily Blunt.
It was kind of like “The Quiet Man,” without the charm of Maureen O’Hara.
But he was fantastic in “Belfast,” and he seems like a genuinely nice guy.
Aw, he needs to just own it. Say he was glad to make fans of the series happy and not every film is made for the critics!
I think the unfavorable reviews for Fifty Shades of Grey are really about the utterly ridiculous and horrendously stupid script (which was based on the equally awful books). I saw the movies and didn’t think Jamie or Dakota were horrible in it – however, they were GIVEN awful dialogue. Jamie, let’s just move on 🙂
I do love to hear Jamie in interviews – he is adorable and so funny!!
He‘s embarrassed because everyone knows he didn’t need to do those three Twilight fan-fic films, but did, and purely for financial purposes… (Which is fine. Love the Michael Caine quote above about his house!)
Seems that Jamie, however, can’t accept that about himself? Dude, really time to move on.
Btw, I was very confused by Jamie Dornan in Wild Mountain Thyme, and loved Emily Blunt in it…