Dakota Johnson’s claim to fame in Hollywood was the very raunchy and explicit film series Fifty Shades of Grey in which she portrayed the bold character of Anastasia Steele, a young woman who gets consumed in lust by a handsome and rich billionaire played by Jamie Dornan. The trilogy which is based on the novels of the same name by E.L.James, created a huge stir for its erotic messaging and graphic s*x scenes.
Expectedly, filming scenes of such nature requires huge confidence in front of the camera. Dakota Johnson who looked the part to perfection, committed wholeheartedly to the scenes despite facing many challenges on set. One of the obstacles involved clashes with the author E.L James and director of the first film Sam Taylor-Johnson who disputed over creative differences.
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Dakota Johnson Faced Many Hurdles in Fifty Shades Of Grey
A film involving graphic s*x scenes requires that the actors on set are comfortable enough to commit to being intimate in front of a huge crew. But Dakota Johnson’s experience in Fifty Shades of Grey was far from easy. While the star was intrigued by director Sam-Taylor Johnson’s adapted screenplay of the first book, she confessed that the final product was completely different from the original vision. This was mainly owing to author E.L. James’ constant presence on set and her insistence on the path the narrative should take despite the fact that these creative ideas would not work for the big screen.
“I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making. She had a lot of creative control, all day, every day, and she just demanded that certain things happen. There were parts of the books that just wouldn’t work in a movie, like the inner monologue, which was at times incredibly cheesy. It wouldn’t work to say out loud. It was always a battle. Always.”
Being only 23 years old at the time, Dakota Johnson confessed to feeling very apprehensive and vulnerable on set owing to the many disagreements between the author and the director. While the film ultimately veered towards the right path, the talented star had to navigate some rough times before getting there.
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The saying goes that good things are difficult to achieve and Dakota Johnson lived by that phrase during her time in Fifty Shades of Grey. Despite the numerous obstacles, the actor looked back on her challenging experience with a lot of pride. While there were issues involving E.L. James and her insistence to see her vision replicated in the film, Johnson spoke highly of the author and was thankful to the team behind the film for giving her the opportunity to shine.
“Jamie and I were treated really well. Erika is a very nice woman, and she was always kind to me and I am grateful she wanted me to be in those movies. It was great for our careers. So amazing. So lucky.”
The Persuasion star, who called herself a s*xual person by nature, said that she was initially intrigued and excited to explore the different themes of love and lovemaking that author E.L James had crafted in the book and gave into them wholeheartedly.
