Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson starred together in the “Fifty Shades” movie series from 2015 to 2018. They were Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in three the films that were based on author E. L. James’ novels.
The “Fifty Shades” films propelled both Jamie and Dakota to stardom, with their names becoming known worldwide. However, it was recently revealed that the former almost turned down the offer to act as the intimidating billionaire Christian Grey. Through the “Out to Lunch” podcast hosted by Jay Rayner, the actor shared why he hesitated to do the film and almost missed out a multi-million payout for the “Fifty Shades” trilogy.
"It's very odd, to be honest," Jamie told Rayner. "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.”
Jamie further said that in some ways he finds Christian Grey “gross,” so he did not accept the role immediately. Moreover, Mirror UK reported that another reason why he needed time to think about agreeing to do “Fifty Shades” with Dakota Johnson was because of the critics.
Dornan heard that there were people who said that he and Dakota were like having “the chemistry of two mannequins” while another one said that “Fifty Shades” was a torture to watch. But then, he withstands all the criticisms and went on to play the lead.
Finally, Jamie Dornan went on to explain that although he thought of rejecting “Fifty Shades” with Dakota Johnson, he accepted as he knew that the E.L. James’ books were loved, so he also felt great to be part of the film besides it is just a job.
"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,” he said. “It's just a film set, it's no different to any other film set, it's just simulating more sex."
