14 DAY TRIAL // Jamie Dornan probably expected more from the “Fifty Shades of Grey” film, the first in a planned trilogy from Universal Pictures, based on the best-selling novels by E.L. James. He probably thought it would be the kind of film that would put him on the map with his peers and the industry people with the checkbook, while also winning the critics over to his side.
That didn’t happen: right now, the film is the most successful release at the box office, but it’s widely mocked and trashed by the critics, moviegoers in general and other actors.
Jamie Dornan is profoundly unhappy and he wants out.
No more Mr. Christian Grey for Dornan
Unlike his co-star Dakota Johnson, Dornan had earned praise for his role on the series “The Fall,” where he plays a killer, so it’s not like the role of Christian Grey plucked him from almost complete anonymity. He had something going and he just needed a break that would boost his profile, and thus offer him the chance to do more serious work to prove his worth.
Again, he must have thought this would happen with “Fifty Shades,” a movie he continued to speak highly of until the last moment. He probably didn’t imagine it would prompt this kind of ridicule in the industry and online.
According to Australian tabloid NW, cited by Yahoo! UK, now that he’s taken a sip of this bitter medicine, Dornan has understood that this is not the direction he wants his career to take.
To put it simply, he wants out of the franchise: the ridicule, the unwanted media attention from female fans, and the pressures of fame have taken a toll both on him and his family, and he believes getting out now is the best option he has to save face.
The thought of working with Dakota Johnson again isn’t too appealing to him either. “Jamie does not think his performance was bad,” a spy says. “Instead he blames Dakota and says it wasn’t possible to have chemistry with her. He says Dakota gave him nothing to work with.”
Easier said than done
Assuming the above report is accurate (which is doubtful at this point, considering the source), it would be easier for Jamie to talk of getting out of the franchise than to actually do it.
He might not like the character, the story, the staff (including the director), the pressure from the studio to promote it and even his co-star, but that doesn’t change the fact that he signed a 3-picture deal with Universal.
Dornan never said this publicly, but in an interview on Charlie Hunnam’s decision to back out of the project, right before Jamie came on, director Sam Taylor-Johnson revealed that what spooked Hunnam was the fact that Universal insisted on a multi-picture deal, even if there was a chance they wouldn’t make more than one.
So it’s safe to assume that Jamie got the exact same deal, one that tied him to the character for 2 more installments besides the one now running in theaters. Hunnam dropped out in the 11th hour and avoided paying penalties, but if Jamie does it now, there will be hell to pay - and probably not just financially.