Jamie Dornan Reveals Fatherhood Changed His Life, Admits Close Relationship With ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Co-Star Dakota Johnson

When the movie adaption of E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” became a worldwide hit, the careers of actors Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, who portray the novel’s lead characters Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, respectively, also skyrocketed. But instead of the film, the actor credited fatherhood as the experience that changed his life.

Amid the promotion of the second installment in the “Fifty Shades” franchise, Dornan got candid about how his character in the film changed his career and personal life. According to Belfast Telegraph, the 34-year-old actor considered becoming a father to two daughters, 3-year-old Dulcie and 1-year-old Phoebe, as more life-changing than portraying the dominant businessman Grey in the movie franchise.

“I sort of don’t feel like [my life] has changed that much,” Dornan told Entertainment Tonight. "The making of these movies coincided with me becoming a father, and I’ve had two kids in the time we’ve made these films, so that’s changed my life immeasurably.”

Dornan added having kids with wife Amelia Warner was a “perfect distraction” as the “Fifty Shades” franchise changes his life. Even though he admitted a “major change” in his life was becoming famous and well-recognized, he said he’s getting “good at blending in” so it didn’t get really crazy.

Aside from sharing about fatherhood, Dornan also spoke about his relationship with “Fifty Shades” co-star Dakota Johnson. In spite of the speculations in the past that they didn’t get along well, Dornan said they both had really become close.

“Now over the years, we've become very close,” Dornan said. “That helps. We need to be sort of partners going into some of those scenes, and we need to have each other's back and love and respect each other the way we do. We both count ourselves very lucky that we get along so well.”

Johnson also confirmed Dornan’s statements about their close relationship, adding she gets along well with the latter’s wife despite their steamy scenes on the set. During filming, the 27-year-old actress revealed she also gets to spend some time with Dornan’s children.

“We were lucky enough to be filming them back-to-back so during the six months we were filming we became very close,” Johnson said, as per The Irish Sun. “The fact that me and Jamie got along and could hang outside of work and do stuff on weekends was a lot nicer. We were in Vancouver for six months and his beautiful babies were there, so to just hang out with kids on the weekend was like a breath of fresh air. That’s the best. It’s like having a built-in friendship with your castmate and you have to hang out.”

Meanwhile, Dornan and Johnson are both busy promoting the upcoming sequel, “Fifty Shades Darker.” It will reportedly hit theaters in the United States and the United Kingdom on Feb. 10, making it a pre-Valentine movie.

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