GQ_Australia_-_February_2017

92 GQ.COM.AU FEBRUARY 2017

The34-year-old’sfilmingtheleadinasmall

indie movie,Untogether,andhasbeen up

sincedaybreaktocatchfirstlight.

Not that we’re here to talk about that.

Asmostareaware,Dornan’snowfamousfor

playingChristianGrey–thebillionaire

businessmanwithatasteforsadomasochism

andtheprotagonistintheblockbuster

Fifty Shadesmovie franchise.

Thefirstinstalmenthitscreensin2015and

therearetwomoreenroute–thenextbeing

FiftyShadesDarker.It’sthereasonfortoday’s

chat–andconversationquicklyturnstosex.

“Peoplethinktheysetupacameraandthe

actors just go for it, but everything’s so

brokenupandeachshottakestime.There

wouldn’t be an actor in the world who doesn’t

thinksexscenesareawkward,”offers

Dornan.“Buttheyhavegotallkindsoftricks

tokeepyourmodesty.Yousortofput

everything in aweebag, tie it up and get on

withit.It’sbizarre.”

We’regettingaheadofourselves.Long

beforeDornanhadtoworryaboutawkward

on-screensexortuckinghisjunkintoabag,

hewasjustakidfromNorthernIreland.The

youngest of three, he grew up in Belfast with

his parents and two sisters. He lost his mother

tocancerwhenhewas16,aneventthathe

says left him fractured and drawn towards

wounded characters.

Fouryearslater,hecaughttheattentionof

amodelscoutandsoonclimbedtothetopof

thefashionworld–photoshootsalongside

KateMossandEvaMendes,adcampaigns

forDiorHommeandCalvinKlein.Then

came aNewYorkTimesprofile in which he

was dubbed ‘The Golden Torso’ – not a title

he cherishes.

“I always hated modelling, but that doesn’t

meanIdefinitelyknewIwantedtobean

actor. It’s one thing to enjoy it and another to

thinkyoucanmakeacareeroutofit–only

fivepercentofactorsareemployedatany

onetime.Whywouldanyonewanttobean

actor?”hesays,laughing.“Mywholetwenties

Ifuckedaround,travellingtheworldand

having a lot of fun. It’s only when I met my

wife seven years ago that I wanted to get my

shit together.”

Itwasinearly2013thatDornanmarried

actressandmusicianAmeliaWarner–forthe

record,she’snotseenFiftyShadesofGrey–

and the couple had their first daughter,

Dulcie, later that year. Their second child,

Phoebe, was born last February.

Dornan’s first film role was as Count Axel

Fersen – Kirsten Dunst’s love interest in Sofia

Coppola’s2006feature,Marie Antoinette.

Fromtherecameaseriesofsmallerprojects,

beforelandinghisacclaimedleadintheIrish

TV crime dramaThe Fall.Astheseries’

good-looking,ifdisturbedserialkiller,Paul

Spector, it meant an opportunity to play

opposite Gillian Anderson and showcase his

actual acting credentials.

“AsmuchaspeoplethinkFifty Shades

changed my life, I’d be nothing without

The Fall–Fifty Shadeswould never have come

anywhere near me without it.”

HelabelsthedarkTVseries–aBritishand

Irish co-production that recently screened its

thirdseason–themostfunhe’shadasan

actor.“ItmightbethebestroleIeverplay.If

theyhadwantedtodo40seasons,Iwouldn’t

have hesitated.” We’ll have to see about that.

Still, it wasFifty Shadesthat led Dornan

toasexdungeononaTuesdayafternoon

acoupleofyearsback–nursingawarmbeer

asatrioofpunters went at it with whips

and paddles.

“It was like nothing I’d experienced before.

I’dneverseenanyformofS&Mand

before this, I had no interest in that world.”

Hetooknotesoftheexperience–notthat

he found them in any way relevant when it

came to shooting.

Still, he can see the appeal the so-called

fetishholdsforsomany.“Itdoesn’tfloatmy

boat,” he says. “I’ve always been open-minded

andliberal–I’dneverjudgeanyone’ssexual

preference.Whatevergetspeopleoffis

entirelyuptothemandthere’samillion

differentwaystopleaseyourself,sexually.”

Unlike the novel’s description of Grey’s

voice as “warm and husky like dark melted

IT’S GETTING

LATE IN LOS ANGELES AND

JAMIE

DORNAN’S

HAD A LONG DAY.

chocolate fudge caramel... or something”,

Dornan’stonesarecoatedbyacharming

sing-songIrishaccent–onethatfeelsatodds

with the profanity that peppers his sentences.

“He’snotthesortofblokeI’dgetalong

with,”statesDornanofGrey.“Allmymates

areeasygoingandquicktolaugh–Iwouldn’t

imaginemyselfsatinapubwithhim.Idon’t

thinkhewouldbemy type, when it comes to

choosing mates.”

Whilethey’reunlikelytoshareapint,

there’snodenyingGrey’smajorplace

in Dornan’s life.Fifty Shades of Grey cost

$53.8m to produce, but claimed more than

$766m worldwide, breaking box office

recordsalongtheway.

“Idon’tletmyselfthinkaboutit–itdrives

youmadbecausethere’ssomuchscrutinyand

fucking craziness surrounding this series

offilms.ButIalwayshadastrongbeliefthat

itwouldbeasuccessandmakealotofmoney

–youdon’thavetobeascientisttoworkout

that100millionreadersofthebook

willtranslateintobumsonseatsinthe

cinema. But I didn’t expect it to be this big, to

be honest.”

Dornan’scarefullytemperedthissideofhis

careerwithsmallerroles,suchaslastyear’s

indie featureAnthropoidand the small-budget

thrillerThe 9thLife of Louis Drax. And it’s

work he’ll continue to seek out.

“There’s an element, when you become an

actor, of thinking it’d be cool to be in a big

movieandgotothefuckingpremiereandall

thatshit,butIcouldneverbesatisfiedjust

doing big-budget studio movies. It would just

fucking drive me insane.”

Nowinhismid-thirties,hisrisehasbeen

more of a slow burn than any immediate

explosion–somethinghe’sgratefulfor.

“MycareertookanupwardturnwhenIwas

29or30,andIwasdelightedthatitdidn’t

happenwhenIwas20.Ijustdon’tknowhow

Iwouldhavehandledmyself.Iwasneverlost

in my twenties, but I was always mucking

aroundandhadalotoffun–butifithadall

cometoosoon...”hetrailsoff.“You’rejustfar

more in control of yourself in your thirties –