Dakota Johnson Needed to Take Shots to Get Through Filming ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Scenes
At times, shooting Fifty Shades of Grey could be difficult for the actors involved. The movie’s subject matter alone meant some pretty intense scenes for stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. However, the two got through these takes in their own ways. For Johnson, she had to turn to liquor to help her through certain scenes.
Jamie Dornan had to apologize to Dakota Johnson several times for ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
One of the ways Jamie Dornan got through filming certain scenes was by saying sorry to his co-star. And he did so more than once.
“I got through (sex scenes) in Fifty with a lot of apologies,” Dornan told The Notebook (via Toronto Sun.) “You have to keep the intensity there, but maintain professionalism. At the end of the day, we’re all human beings and it can be uncomfortable to film things like that. So I just tried to make light of it.”
But the Belfast star’s attempt at lightening up the mood was apologizing to Johnson during their more intimate scenes.
“If I was about to be doing something particularly heinous to Dakota, I would apologize in advance and say, ’I’m probably not going to derive a huge amount of pleasure out of this. I want you to know that,’” he confided.
But Johnson’s method for getting through her Fifty Shades scenes required a bit more than apologies.
Dakota Johnson needed to take shots to get through ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ scenes
In an interview with Marie Claire, the Fifty Shades actor revealed the kind of unconventional preparation that was needed for the Fifty trilogy. Depending on the intensity of the scene, booze was not uncommon for her pre-shooting ritual with Dornan.
“Most of [our preparation] is just really figuring out exactly how we’re going to accomplish the scene beforehand—so that there’s not a lot of waiting around while we’re both vulnerable,” Johnson shared. “But, if something is very, very difficult, it’s sometimes necessary to have a shot of something strong beforehand.”
In another interview with Entertainment Tonight, Johnson disclosed her liquor of choice for Fifty Shades. She also revealed how her film partner, Dornan, would also physically prepare for the role.
“Shot of whiskey [and] mints,” Johnson said. “He [Jamie Dornan] does pushups and I just lay there and drink whiskey.”
Why Jamie Dornan was relieved to find out Emily Blunt didn’t watch ‘Fifty Shades’
Jamie Dornan and Emily Blunt collaborated with one another on the romance film Wild Mountain Thyme. Although Blunt had once persuaded her friend Dakota Johnson to do Fifty Shades, Blunt herself had never seen the film. A fact that Dornan was grateful for.
“Jamie was quite relieved that I had never seen the Fifty Shades films,” Blunt said in a separate interview with Entertainment Tonight. “And I hadn’t read the book. So I just said, ‘I’m so sorry. I’ve never seen those films.’ And he goes, ‘I am very relieved.'”
Blunt’s only impression of Dornan was in the work the actor did separate from Fifty Shades.
“I’d seen Jamie on The Fall and I’d seen him in Private War, and that was it really. So I didn’t have any sort of perception of him being this, you know, whatever Christian Grey was,” Blunt added.
