“I don’t really pay too much attention to how I’m perceived by audiences”
Jamie Dornan is fast trying to escape his Christian Gray alter ego and show audiences new sides of himself. The handsome 36-year-old actor who hails from Northern Ireland (and still speaks in the fairly thick and charming accent of his native land) is now embarking on two vastly different projects that will go a long way to redefining his screen image.
First up is Robin Hood, the latest remake of the venerable Sherwood Forest saga that has previously seen Errol Flynn (glorious), Kevin Costner (horrendous), and Russell Crowe (miserable) take up the title role. Except Dornan isn’t playing Robin but rather his half-brother, Will Scarlet, instead while Taron Egerton plays the leader of his rebel troupe and Jamie Foxx is cast as Little John.
Though some might question the casting choices as well as the wisdom of reviving the oft-told tale, Dornan believes that the only way to attract audiences is to infuse some radical innovation into the narrative. Looking cool and relaxed with a fairly lush beard and wearing a grey pullover and black pants, Jamie spoke enthusiastically about Robin Hood and how he hopes it will engage people.
“It’s exciting and I’m excited for people to see it,” Dornan says. “There’s no point in making it unless you’re going to turn it on its head and do something that hasn’t been done before. I think the opportunity to be involved in that was exciting to me. And to be part of an ensemble cast of some really amazing people was very enticing.”
In addition, Dornan can also be seen in A Private War, a biopic about the life of intrepid war correspondent Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike) in which he plays her close friend, British photojournalist Paul Conroy.
Finally, Jamie has revealed that he will be voicing one of the principal characters in Trolls World Tour, the animated sequel to the massively popular original 2016 Disney cartoon film.
Jamie Dornan is married to former actress Amelia Warner, 34. They have two daughters, Dulcie, 5, and Elva, who turns 3 in February.
Jamie, what’s different about this latest reboot of Robin Hood?
JAMIE DORNAN: It upsets your expectations. The story goes in different directions from the established paths of the previous Robin Hood films and there’s this sense that you don’t know these characters as much as you think you know them from the previous versions. It’s a very physical film which I think is going to make it stand out.
Your character, Will Scarlet, will certainly surprise a lot of people who discover that he may not be a good guy after all as the story unfolds?
JD: I think that that’s what’s cool about it and that’s what I felt when I read it. At the start of the story you think that this guy is an inherently good person and he’s trying to do the right thing for the people and there’s a lot about him that’s very admirable and then things happen in the story and lines are crossed and within that love triangle between Robin and Marion he ends up in a place that’s totally unrecognisable from where we first met him.
“It upsets your expectations. The story goes in different directions from the established paths of the previous Robin Hood films.”
There’s been a lot of talk about the very violent axe fight Will Scarlet takes part in?
JD: It was a very demanding scene to shoot and I had prepared quite intensively for that scene and I did a lot of physical training to be ready for it. Unfortunately, a lot of the axe fight doesn’t make it into the final cut although there’s plenty there to make you take notice. It was very exhausting to shoot that scene. We did it on a night shoot which made it extra hard but honestly I love doing physical stuff like that.
How did you and your co-star Taron Egerton who plays Robin Hood get along?
JD: We became great friends. We’ve maintained contact after the filming was over and we still talk regularly. I was a big fan of Taron’s before we started working on the film and we hit it off instantly which is always pleasant when you’re going to be working together for several months….Taron has a lot of energy and he’s annoyingly charismatic! (Laughs)
You’ve also revealed that you’re going to be one of the main voices and characters in the new Trolls film?
JD: I hadn’t done too much work so far in my career that the kids could watch and I was quite mindful of that. Now that they’ve been going through a particularly obsessive period with Trolls I just asked to be involved in the second one and it worked out.
How do you manage to balance family life with a career that often takes you away for months at a time?
JD: I’m very fortunate to be in a position where I can spend many months at home with my wife and children, which is something not a lot of working fathers can do. Of course my family is the most important thing in my life and I want to continue working at a pace that gives me enough time in between projects that doesn’t disrupt things too much.
The last five or six years has been a very fortunate time for me in my career and I’ve enjoyed the work I’ve been doing lately and I hope I can continue that. But no matter how my career evolves my priority will always be to raise my children properly and be an important presence in their life.
“I’m very fortunate to be in a position where I can spend many months at home with my wife and children which is something not a lot of working fathers can do.”
Did your wife and children visit you on the set of Robin Hood while you were filming in Hungary last year?
JD: They visited me once but usually I would fly back for a few days at a time from Budapest back home (to England) rather than making them come to see me. But I know that if I am going to be working on a film for several months then they will come live with me. It would be too hard, at least for me, to be apart for that length of time. So we will always find a way to work it out and not be separated for very long.
Was it important for you to be able to take part in telling the story of Marie Colvin in A Private War and how she tried to report on the reality of war torn regions like Syria?
JD: It was a privilege to be part of this film and being part of a story that is so authentic and real and wanting to capture the truth. I hope the story will leave a lasting impression on people and how little or nothing has been done about the situation in Syria. Some films you do for entertainment but this one was one that had a bit of weight behind it and you feel that they’re important.
How intense was it on the set?
JD: It was a very emotional and cathartic experience for all of us. The director spent weeks interviewing real Syrian and Iraqi refugees and a lot of the stuff you see in the film are shots of real refugees and real tears. So you can imagine what it was like seeing mass graves in Iraq and seeing how when the people would go by those graves there would be this mass wailing.
Even our DP (director of cinematography) who was in their faces with the camera had a hard time shooting those scenes. Even though you want to be able to capture those moments you also worry about crossing a line and exploiting those emotions. But the real refugees and victims of this tragedy thanked us for wanting to tell their story and that made us feel that we needed to be as authentic as possible.
What was it like playing a real-life character in Paul Conroy, the photographer who working with Marie Colvin?
JD: I had a bit of a cheat in that I had the luxury of Paul still being around and he was with us the entire shoot in London and it’s rare to get that luxury as an actor to have the person you’re portraying 20 feet away from you at all times.
Your image is still heavily tied into your Christian Gray alter ego and all the attention status that follows from the 50 Shades films. How do you deal with being considered a sex symbol in the eyes of a lot of the women who have seen you in these movies?
JD: I don’t deal with it at all, frankly. I would rather that people find me attractive as opposed to ugly, but you want the public to appreciate your work as an actor as opposed to your physical appearance.
But I don’t really pay too much attention to how I’m perceived by audiences. That’s why I’m not on social media. The only thing that matters to me is what my family and closest friends think of me.
Otherwise you’re in danger of losing your identity to your films and how well one movie does as compared to another which is generally out of your control.
You have been pretty successful at leading a very quiet life with your wife and daughters and staying out of the public eye as much as possible?
JD: When you’re raising two toddlers there isn’t a lot of time to go out on the town, anyway. We enjoy being at home together and living a very normal life. I’ve never been interested in leading a glamourous life – that just doesn’t appeal to me at all.
I had enough wild nights when I was younger and hanging out with my rugby mates and going from one pub to another. But those days are long gone.
You originally wanted to become a professional rugby player, didn’t you?
JD: I was a skinny kid and rugby was my way of trying to become stronger and more physically fit. I loved the sport but I was never good enough to turn professional and also a few broken bones along the way made me think about doing other things with my life. But I’m still a sports fanatic and a frustrated athlete. I love playing golf as a means of relaxation although it can be a very frustrating sport!
As a former model and someone who was very elegantly dressed in your Fifty Shades films, do you pay a lot of attention to fashion and clothes in your private life?
JD: It’s not something I worry about a lot and I hate shopping for clothes. If I go to an event or premiere, then I’ll spend some time thinking about that and I’ll go looking for a brand that I like and buy something. But on a daily basis, no. I have two daughters and they take a lot of time. So, if we’re all going out I’ll choose something very basic, a white T-shirt, jeans, anything that is comfortable and presentable. I think the older I get, the simpler I get when it comes to fashion.
Apart from your acting work, you’re also the face of Hugo Boss fragrance. How does your wife Amelia like the scent?
JD: Amelia loves the Hugo Boss fragrance. I’ve never met anyone like her before who’s very passionate about fragrance and she’s really into it.
“I’ve never been interested in leading a glamorous life – that just doesn’t appeal to me at all.”
INTERVIEW BY WENN
PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY
