Jamie Dornan has had a thriving career after his rising fame in the Fifty Shades film franchise, which he starred in alongside Dakota Johnson. The 39-year-old actor has kept busy during the last year. He famously starred in the two 2021 flicks called Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar and Belfast.
Both movies received critical acclaim and gave Dornan the opportunity to showcase his impressive range as one was a comedy and the other was a drama. He has certainly broken free of the Fifty Shades shackles. In a new interview by Telegraph, the Irish actor opened up about his recent projects and his personal life, commenting on his breakthrough role and his late father.
Jamie Dornan calls his father a “beacon of positivity”
Last year, Dornan’s father tragically passed while he was quarantining in Australia to begin filming The Tourist. His cause of death was COVID-19. Opening up to Telegraph about the loss, the actor said that “it would be very hard to find something negative” to say about his dad. He also shared that his mom died of cancer when he was only sixteen years old.
He recalled the advice that his father gave him following the loss of his mom. Dornan was told, “Don’t let this be the thing that defines you.”
Continuing to share some words about his father, Dornan expressed, “He was a beacon of positivity – that is my overriding takeaway. His kindness, his willingness to talk to anybody and everybody – he used to say, you treat the person who cleans the court the same as you treat the judge.” He added, “Dad had time for everybody.”
His dad’s inspiring way of life rubbed off on him. Dornan continued to share that he has tried to adopt those aforementioned traits into his life. He said, “I’ve tried to take that into my own life. We’re talking about a professor of medicine here, an insanely intelligent man. He was so positive. He would say, this has happened, how do we move forward and get something good out of this?”
Jamie Dornan comments on Fifty Shades breakthrough
In the same interview, Dornan was prompted about his three daughters. The interviewer asked if he’d “make a film like Fifty Shades of Grey now, when there’s his daughters to consider?”
Dornan responded, “I can be a real cynic, and if it wasn’t me in the film, it’d be different.” However, he isn’t completely out of the doghouse. He continued to say, “As my girls get older, will they have to field some awkward questions? Yeah! But will it have a damaging effect on them or my relationship with them? No.”
What is Dornan up to now? His latest project is a BBC television series called The Tourist.
The Tourist premiered January 1 on BBC1. The series is expected to make its way to HBO Max, but a release date has not been confirmed.