Fame and celebrity. They can come with true obstacles. Of course, there’s the enormous wealth, and tremendous access, that typically follow stardom. When you reach the top of the entertainment industry, your life changes, forever. But not all the changes are welcome, as Jamie Dornan discovered while working on the Fifty Shades of Grey film adaptations. Critics didn’t love the movies, and fans argued over the first movie’s ending, leading to all sorts of chatter surrounding the trilogy. While we tracked the off-screen relationship between Dornan and his Fifty Shades co-star Dakota Johnson, the actor was fending off unwanted attention from stalkers.
Jamie Dornan has moved on from the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, stealing scenes in the hilarious Barb & Star and eventually making the shortlist to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond. But he’ll always be associated with Christian Grey, the part he played in the 2015 film and its sequels. And in a recent interview with The Independent, Dornan explained how he tried to separate himself from the fandom that came with that popular saga… and the repercussions his family experienced. Dornan said in the interview:
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.
That’s terrifying. Everything about Jamie Dornan that we have learned in his post-Fifty Shades arc makes him seem like a regular guy, someone easily accessible, and credible as a dad in the Oscar-winning Kenneth Branagh film, Belfast. But there are limits, and everyone – no matter how famous – is entitled to their privacy. When Dornan chooses to open up about his relationship with his kids, that’s his call. Stay off the man’s front steps.
We assume we will be tracking Jamie Dornan’s professional career for years, whether he’s popping up as a member of Branagh’s latest Hercules Poirot murder mystery, or fending off spies alongside Gal Gadot in the Netflix thriller Heart of Stone. As stated, he has managed to break out in the Fifty Shades series, but use the global platform as a means for finding new and exciting roles… even if he has stated being jealous of Robert Pattinson’s post-Twilight success.
Let’s just hope the stories of stalking fans who push through established boundaries stop happening.
