The overnight success of the hit erotic franchise Fifty Shades of Grey starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan brought immense popularity to both actors, but it also came with a price. Despite its commercial victory, the movies were slammed by critics for their inaccurate and offensive way of portraying BDSM.
Dornan admitted he never regrets taking on the role of Christian Grey, but he had to take some time off away from the public after the film’s release.
Jamie Dornan Shut Himself Off After Fifty Shades Of Grey Backlash
Jamie Dornan spoke with BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs and opened up about the time he and his wife, songwriter Amelia Warner, had to move away and hide from the world right after the worldwide premiere of Fifty Shades of Grey in 2015. He said director Sam Taylor-Johnson gave them a place to stay (via Daily Mail):
“I think I hid. I am coming off the back of career-altering reviews for The Fall to just ridicule almost. They let us have their place in the country, and we sort of hid there for a while and just shut ourselves from the world a bit and then sort of came out the other side.”
The movie was a major box office hit, spanning two more equally successful sequels. Dornan was both amused and confused with the commercial acclaim of the films and the backlash they received. The entire franchise was worth over $1.32 billion worldwide.
“[The film] made so much money that two or three were like greenlit overnight. It was a strange thing because then you are like there is a bit of ridicule here, and I’m now contractually doing two more of them and knowing that there would be more of that damnation to come.”
The actor is pretty much aware that he will never escape from the shackles that tie him to the Fifty Shades trilogy. Even though he works on other projects and fans would acknowledge his acting skills, there will be a couple of reviews that would remind everyone that he was once Christian Grey.
“I have just had very glowing reviews for recent work, and there wouldn’t be many of them that don’t mention ‘Fifty Shades’ in them. A lot of reviews are like he’s great, but lest we forget when he wasn’t great… But regrets that I did them, no.”
Dornan does not hold ill feelings towards the steamy media franchise that made him an international star, as well as Dakota Johnson who once professed that she cried tears of joy after getting cast as Anastasia Steele.
Jamie Dornan Stood By Fifty Shades Of Grey Trilogy
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Jamie Dornan confessed he knew what to expect once the first Fifty Shades of Grey movie sees the light of day. The actor anticipated the criticism but defended that they only paid homage to the source material.
“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 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.”
More importantly, he is not disheartened by the critics’ responses because he sees the financial feat and support of the fans as indicators of a well-received movie.
“Movies that are made for the fans that fans love can be seen as a success. I’m grateful that Dakota and I have managed to come out [in the years since] and make work that people still like and have had some of those said critics do a bit of a 180.”
Dornan’s latest film projects include Heart of Stone and A Haunting in Venice.
