His cameo wasn’t relevant to the redemption story

Sep 25, 2015 14:01 GMT  ·  By
Jamie Dornan's cameo in “Burnt” with Bradley Cooper won't make it in the final film
   Jamie Dornan's cameo in “Burnt” with Bradley Cooper won't make it in the final film

Jamie Dornan, star of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” franchise but also of the lesser known but more critically acclaimed TV series “The Fall,” was supposed to be seen next on the big screen in the Bradley Cooper-vehicle “Burnt,” about a disgraced chef who tries to get his life back in order.

Earlier this week, word got out that Dornan had been cut from the film and proof of that didn’t fail to appear: his name was no longer included on newer posters and he seemed to be the only actor cut from the final film.

At about the same time, rumors said that producers feared his association with the “Fifty Shades of Grey” franchise would end up ultimately harming their movie, while others suggested that Dornan’s performance simply didn’t fare well with audiences at test screenings.

Director John Wells sets the record straight in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly: working with Dornan was a pleasure and he was very professional on set, but unfortunately, his role had to be cut.

“In making every film, cuts and adjustments in storylines inevitably occur. In the case of Burnt, Jamie’s role was a small cameo that he was kind enough to do for us and was part of Sienna Miller’s character’s backstory,” Wells says. “We ultimately decided to focus on Adam Jones’ redemption story.”

In the end, the decision was not in response to something that Dornan had done or failed to do, but merely of deciding what was relevant to the main story. This backstory simply wasn’t.