“I Tried To Put Walls Up”: Jamie Dornan On How He Dealt With Crazy 50 Shades Of Grey Fans

“I Tried To Put Walls Up”: Jamie Dornan On How He Dealt With Crazy 50 Shades Of Grey Fans

Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan reveals the crazy fan attention he received in the aftermath of the film. Dornan starred as lead character Christian Grey in the film, which was originally released in 2015. Following the release of Fifty Shades of Grey, Dornan reprised his role in the sequels Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.

Speaking with The Independent, Dornan explains his chaotic experience following the release of Fifty Shades of Grey. Dornan revealed that he had been in a “a stalker-type situation” following the release of the film, which affected him and his family. As a result, the actor “tried to put walls up around [the fans], to really try and not let that in.” Dornan described the overall experience as “f***ing scary.” Check out the full quote from Dornan below:
I tried to put walls up around [the fans], to really try and not let that in. I’m pretty good at just blocking any of the noise associated with whatever fandom is – not letting it affect me, or more importantly my family. I’ve been involved in situations where it’s impacted my family. I had a situation… a stalker-type situation before Covid. That was f***ing scary. Someone turned up at my house when my kids were there. It was not something… The more I can block that out, the better it is for me and the family.

Dornan was then asked how this Fifty Shades of Grey experience affected his desire to do other big-budget films, to which he responded:
I don’t know, because obviously that was a whole fallout from Fifty Shades and the hysteria around that franchise. There’s never going to be anything like Fifty Shades again. It felt very much like its own thing, particularly because it focused in and around sex. But there are obviously other jobs that bring insane scrutiny, like superhero stuff, or f***ing James Bond – any of that stuff. I’ve done pretty well to avoid that sort of s*** so far.
Originating as a piece of erotic Twilight fanfiction, Fifty Shades of Grey made a splash in the literary world upon the release of the E.L. James novel in 2011. Featuring graphic sexual scenes, the novel became hugely popular and led to massive anticipation for the film. Upon its release, Fifty Shades of Grey became one of the few films to show intense BDSM and other sexual content in a mainstream, R-rated movie, which titillated audiences and led to the film becoming a success and unique phenomenon.

Part of the craze around the film was centered on Dornan. Prior to his work in Fifty Shades of Grey, the Irish actor was a relatively unknown face, with his only more prominent role coming from nine episodes of the TV series Once Upon a Time. This was part of the excitement of Fifty Shades of Grey, in a way. Much like Christian Grey himself, Dornan was alluring and mysterious to mainstream American audiences, adding to the appeal of his character.

Unfortunately for Dornan, this has led to copious obsessive and inappropriate behavior from fans. For years, conspiracy theories have circulated online that Dornan and Fifty Shades co-star Dakota Johnson are a couple in real life who have secret children together. This discourse is undeniably uncomfortable for Dornan, who has since experienced disconcerting fan reactions offline as well. Fifty Shades of Grey may have helped launch a career for Dornan, but it did so with a cost that still haunts the star.