Jamie Dornan Admits He ‘Went Through a Bad Stage’ Reading Negative Fifty Shades of Grey Reviews

The film received generally negative reviews from critics and moviegoers alike upon its release

Jamie Dornan is getting candid about the reviews he received for his most famous acting role.

While speaking with Variety earlier this week, the 38-year-old actor openly discussed the reviews tied to his role in the first film in the Fifty Shades of Grey series. Though he doesn’t typically take part in reading them, Dornan said he couldn’t resist back in 2015, when the first Fifty Shades film was released.

“I went through a bad stage with Fifty Shades of reading a couple of really bad ones, but then just finding them funny and letting them drive me,” he said of the reviews. “One of them was ‘Jamie Dornan has the charisma of oatmeal,’ which — some people like oatmeal, so I thought it was kind of harsh.”

“I remember that stuck with me, and I don’t entirely disagree with it either,” he added.

9 Actors Who Admitted They Hated Their On-Screen Characters
Fifty Shades Of Grey – Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan
Based on a trilogy of books, the film franchise first began half a decade ago with Fifty Shades of Grey, before it was followed by two sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, which were released in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

In the series of films, Dornan starred as Christian Grey — a young and wealthy businessman with a love for all things erotic — alongside Dakota Johnson, who portrayed his love interest, Anastasia Steele.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Fifty Shades of Grey received generally negative reviews upon its release from critics and moviegoers alike.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 25 percent based on 280 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 4.3/10. Meanwhile, film audiences gave the movie an average grade of C+ on CinemaScore.
Dornan has been open about his distaste for the character he portrayed in the past, even describing that Christian Grey is not someone he would ever find himself hanging around.

While promoting the second Shades installment in GQ Australia, Dornan made it clear that his pack of friends doesn’t include anyone quite like the uptight billionaire he portrayed.

“[He’s] not the sort of bloke I’d get along with,” he confessed. “All my mates are easygoing and quick to laugh — I wouldn’t imagine myself sat in a pub with him. I don’t think he would be my type, when it comes to choosing mates.”

Dornan also previously addressed which part of playing the character he would not miss, telling PEOPLE in 2016, “I won’t miss wearing suits, which I had to do. I don’t feel comfortable in them.”