Yep, Jamie Dornan was glad to not have landed the same role that eventually turned him into an international heartthrob almost never came his way, and he wasn’t exactly crushed when it slipped through his fingers the first time.
In a throwback chat with GQ, Dornan revealed that Charlie Hunnam actually beat him to the punch. “I was beaten to it the first time by Charlie Hunnam and I felt a certain amount of relief when he got it, to be honest,” Dornan admitted. “I thought, ‘This would have been fun, but it would have been a strange ride. Better not to be on that ride.’” A bold take, considering the franchise’s global success, but totally understandable if you consider the wild fandom and critical firestorm the films stirred up.
Back in 2013, Hunnam, best known for Sons of Anarchy, was announced as the original Christian Grey. But just a month before filming Fifty Shades of Grey, he dropped out. According to Screen Rant, Hunnam pulled the plug due to his commitment to Sons of Anarchy, leaving the studio in scramble mode. Enter Dornan, the Irish actor and former model who had already impressed TV audiences in The Fall. With weeks to spare, he stepped into the grey suit and the high-pressure spotlight.
Once he was officially cast, there was no turning back. Dornan went on to lead all three installments, Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), Fifty Shades Darker (2017), and Fifty Shades Freed (2018). Despite the polarizing reviews, fans couldn’t get enough. Dornan’s cool, mysterious vibe clicked with audiences, making Christian Grey a pop culture icon and catapulting Dornan’s career into another stratosphere.
But it wasn’t all glossy magazine covers and swoony interviews. Dornan had to revisit that earlier hesitation once Hunnam dropped out. “But he pulled out and then I got a call. And I got it. And there we go. I had to confront that choice again,” Dornan recalled. The second time around, he didn’t walk away, and that gamble paid off.
In the same interview, Dornan got real about the impact the franchise had on his life. “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 … Everyone involved worked as hard as they could on those films, including myself.”
So while Jamie Dornan initially breathed a sigh of relief when the Fifty Shades train passed him by, fate clearly had other plans. And when the call came a second time, he owned it.
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