Jamie Dornan Addresses ‘Fifty Shades‘ Critics: ‘Everyone Involved Worked Hard’

KEY POINTS

Jamie Dornan said he does not regret taking on the role of Christian Grey in the “Fifty Shades” movies
Dornan pointed out that the films had “done no harm” to his career despite not being critically well-received
The actor shared that he will always be “grateful” for the franchise as it had “provided a lot” for him

Jamie Dornan has broken his silence on the negative comments the “Fifty Shades” movies have been receiving from critics.

The 39-year-old Hollywood actor took the time to explain why people should take the movie adaptation more seriously in his exclusive interview with British GQ published Friday.

Dornan made it clear that he did not regret playing the lead role, Christian Grey, in the controversial erotic romance that premiered in 2015.

“Look, put it this way: it’s done no harm to my career to be part of a movie franchise that has made more than $1 billion. Every working actor would say the same thing,” he said.

Addressing the critics who keep bashing the films and consider them silly or poorly made, Dornan pointed out that everyone involved in the project worked hard on them.

“I take issue with the whole thing being just a bit of a joke. Everyone involved worked as hard as they could on those films, including myself,” he said.

Dornan added that he will always be “grateful” for the opportunity to star in the franchise as it had “provided a lot” for him and “transformed my life and my family’s life financially.”

The “Fifty Shades” franchise wrapped up in 2018, and Dornan has moved on to other projects since then. However, critics continue to link him to the movies, which were not critically well-received, according to Us Weekly.

“Whether ‘A Private War,’ ‘Anthropoid’ or ‘Belfast,’ or whatever comes next, the line in the press is always, ‘It’s the best thing he’s done since ‘Fifty Shades.’ As if I am still needing to prove myself; I am still paying penance for that choice to get me back to where I was beforehand,” he quipped.

As for Dornan’s on-screen partner in the “Fifty Shades” films, Dakota Johnson has publicly expressed just how proud she is of doing the project that gave her career a big boost.

“I’m proud of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey.’ I don’t need to distance myself from that. The more work I do, the more the general public sees the different things I can do. Do I think it opened doors? Yeah. More people know my name,” she told The Guardian in 2016.

The “Fifty Shades” movie franchise was based on the bestselling book series of the same name by author E.L. James.