Jamie Dornan Says He Went Into Hiding After “Ridicule” For ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’: “Shut Ourselves Off From The World”

By Samantha Nungesser @samjnungesser
Published Jan. 29, 2024, 4:05 p.m. ET

Where to Stream:

50 Shades of Grey

Powered by Reelgood

More On:

Jamie Dornan

When Jamie Dornan‘s abs weren’t enough to save him from negative reviews for Fifty Shades of Grey, the actor was forced to go into hiding. After all, he wasn’t used to such “ridicule” after his critically acclaimed performance as a serial killer in the United Kingdom series The Fall.

Dornan recently opened up about how he dealt with getting ripped apart by critics for his role as Christian Grey in the raunchy romance flick.

“I think I hid,” he said on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, per Variety. “I was coming off the back of career-altering reviews for The Fall and BAFTA nominations and all the madness The Fall brought … to ridicule.”

Based on E.L. James’ novel of the same name, Fifty Shades of Grey follows an innocent college graduate, played by Dakota Johnson, who sparks a romance with a billionaire businessman, played by Dornan, who introduces her to the erotic world of BDSM.

According to the Dornan, he fled to Fifty Shades director Sam Taylor-Johnson and her husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson‘s house when the harsh reviews came in.

“They weren’t there,” he recalled. “They let us have their place in the country and we sort of hid there for awhile and shut ourselves off from the world a little bit.”

'Fifty Shades of Grey'
Photo: Everett Collection

With the film making more than $569 million worldwide, the go-ahead for its two sequels was almost immediately approved — meaning Dornan was contractually obligated to return to the role that put his career on the line.

“It made so much money so like … films two and three were greenlit overnight,” he said. “It was a strange thing because there’s a bit of ridicule here and I’m now contracted to do two more, knowing that there will be much more damnation to come.”

Despite this, Dornan — who recently starred in A Haunting in Venice — has no regrets for starring in the franchise. After all, it’s what made him a global superstar!

“I had very glowing reviews for recent work. And there won’t be any that don’t mention Fifty Shades in them,” he said. “A lot of reviews are like: ‘He’s great, but lest we forget when he wasn’t great here.’ Regret that I did them? No!”

Fifty Shades of Grey is currently streaming on Max.