Jamie Dornan Planned to Retreat to the Mountains If ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Flopped
Actor Jamie Dornan hit a career-high with the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. Although the film received mixed critical reviews, they were commercially successful and catered to many fans of the book.
This was the best-case scenario for Dornan, who planned to flee to the mountains if Fifty Shades failed.
Jamie Dornan once admitted that ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ critics were hard to deal with
For one reason or another, the Fifty Shades franchise received a lot of criticism during its time on top. Dornan acknowledged that the fans welcomed the movies with open arms, but failed to encourage the same love from critics.
“There’s nothing like Fifty Shades in terms of, it was based on books and we were staying very close to these books. These books were loved by fandom. Really loved, obsessively loved and despised by every critic,” he once told GQ.
He may have expected some critical backlash for the film, but that didn’t make the criticism hurt any less.
“You know that you’re going to have these movies that are for the fans, that the fans are going to love, that are gonna make a ton of money,” he said. “But you know that the critics will be just you know licking their lips and that’s exactly what happened. And we knew that was going to happen so you’re watching that play out and at times that’s f****** difficult.”
Jamie Dornan was prepared to leave show business and live in the mountains if ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ flopped
Getting cast in the famous franchise was an intense time in The Fall alum’s life. Charlie Hunnam was supposed to star in the film, but after he turned it down Dornan stepped in as the substitute. But the shoot was even more stressful when learning that his wife, Amelia Warner, was going to give birth while he was filming.
“We had to get to Toronto [where the film was shot] as soon as I found out, because my wife was due to give birth imminently. Only now am I realizing how mad that whole period was: the filming, the baby, the way the job came about,” he confided to Vogue. “All of it was totally crazy.”
Dornan was also aware of all the pressure that came with the film. There was such hype surrounding the project that if it flopped, Dornan had an escape plan ready.
“If it’s a nightmare, we’ll move to Outer Mongolia or something, live in a yurt,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of s*** together, finally, by age 32. I’m glad I have that all in place when whatever happens, happens.”
Jamie Dornan didn’t appreciate ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ being seen as a joke
Dornan is more than grateful for his time in Fifty Shades, and has very few regrets about the decision.
“Look, put it this way: it’s done no harm to my career to be part of a movie franchise that has made more than $1 billion,” he said in another interview with British GQ. “Every working actor would say the same thing. It’s provided—a lot. There’s no shame in saying it’s transformed my life and my family’s life financially. I am very, very grateful for this and always will be. And the fans loved it.”
If there’s one thing in the movie he finds hard to tolerate, however, it’s how often Fifty Shades is put down by some.
“But I take issue with the whole thing being just a bit of a joke,” Dornan added. “Everyone involved worked as hard as they could on those films, including myself.”
