Jamie Dornan has told how he collects rocks shaped like potatoes and has a “love” for sea swimming.
The Holywood actor lifted the lid on his strange hobby at an event in London launching him as the new face of Diet Coke.
He explained: “It’s not a passion, but I collect rocks that look like potatoes. I’ve only got about seven, but they are really good ones.”
The 42-year-old also said he was thrilled but nervous to be promoting Diet Coke.
He added: “It’s very cool. It’s a big job with big shoes to fill with the legend that is Kate Moss.
“I’m very honoured and thrilled to be associated with such an iconic brand.
“I love what they are trying to do with the ‘This Is My Taste’ (campaign) in celebrating people’s uniqueness and self-expression. It’s a real sincere honour to be part of it.
“The advert shoot was great fun and I was doing something I loved. I did it in a lido in Charlton.”
The advert explores Jamie’s passions, including cold-water swimming, which he got into because of his musician wife Amelia Warner.
He said: “You are really into the idea of it or not at all. I wasn’t really, but my wife got me into it — she is much braver than I am.
“She started off doing it when we lived in the countryside for a long time and there was loads of it going on there.
“I got into it through her and now I love it. It’s better to just jump in.
“I’m not from Dublin, but I’ve been there a lot and filmed there a lot. There’s a place called the Vico Baths. There’s a real party scene down there and there’s loads of different cultures and ethnicities. They encourage you to jump in (the water) then everyone cheers.
“It’s much easier to do it with the support of people rather than just throwing yourself in. It’s a big-time community. It’s a real scene in Hampstead in London, where Harry Styles does it.”
Jamie has just finished filming his new Netflix show The Undertow, in which he plays estranged twins.
When one abruptly returns, it stirs up trouble with the other twin’s unhappy wife Nicola played by Mackenzie Davis, with whom the latter also has a “tangled romantic past”.
However, it’s unlikely the father-of-three will be tuning in.
He said: “We squeezed it (the Diet Coke advert shoot) into the only two days I had off in a very long shoot, the longest of my career.
“I’ve only just finished it today for this Netflix show. It will come out next year. It’s called The Undertow. I am not a big fan of watching myself do anything.”
