Fifty Shades star Jamie Dornan has admitted that he almost turned down his starring role as Christian Grey.
Dornan is known to fans all over the world for his role in the Fifty Shades franchise. The films quickly proved to be a box office hit, but the actor has now shared that he hesitated to take up the role because he had a feeling that the films would be critically panned. (And it’s safe to say they were.)
“It’s very odd, to be honest,” Dornan explained on Jay Rayner’s Out To Lunch podcast.
“You are presented with this incredible opportunity that is going to have a big impact on your life and change many things – to be honest mostly financially, but also career, it’ll open so many doors – but you know it’s going to get panned.
“You’re trying to do the best you can and make the best of it, but we knew that because the books were adored by many, bought by many, but panned by many… [it was] probably going to be the same thing for the movies.
“They’re a great joy to be a part of, and a crazy journey to go on, but also above everything else, they are just a job. It’s just a film set, it’s no different to any other film set, it’s just simulating more sex,” he added.
During the podcast, Jamie also said that there were lots of things he found “gross” about Christian Grey.
“I don’t think I’ll ever play a character who’s less like me,” he added – and yes, he is including his The Fall character, serial killer Paul Spector, in that statement.
Last year, Jamie definitively ruled out returning for any more Fifty Shades films, before later adding that he was “very keen” to move on from the character that made him a household name.
Recently, we got to find out that Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, aka Tyrion Lannister, helped his buddy Dornan out with learning his lines for the final film’s reshoots while the duo were filming My Dinner With Hervé.
“I read some of the screenplay, though, in our dressing room,” Dinklage said. “I went in, he had to do some reshoots for Fifty Shades and I would help him out learning lines.
“I would read the Dakota Johnson parts. I was just helping a friend learn lines. I nailed it. I really did.”
