Jamie Dornan knew "critics would despise" Fifty Shades of Grey
Actor Jamie Dornan left audience members in a steamy tizz when he starred in the saucy Fifty Shades franchise but he knew his performance wouldn't win over critics.
Dornan played Christian Grey in all three films in the Fifty Shades of Grey series alongside Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele.
Although fans of the film are grateful he played Christian, he initially lost out on the role to Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam, who eventually dropped out, which meant Dornan was back in.
Related: Dakota Johnson says Fifty Shades of Grey was "always a battle"
Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Heart of Stone actor revealed that he knew critics would not get on board with the film but that it would be a hit with audiences.
On stepping in to replace Hunnam, Dornan said: "When I didn't get it, I felt a bit of relief because I knew that guy is going to get wrecked here."
He added: "He maybe felt the same… suddenly there I was, but with way less time to make a decision. I got cast five weeks before we started filming. I knew that it came with all that baggage… that the reality was it would make a ton of money, and the fans would love and the critics would despise it.
"That's what happened with the books, and that's what we were making. We were staying truthful to the books, and we knew what that would be.”
Related: First look at Fifty Shades of Grey and Crazy Rich Asians stars in new movie
The movies were box office successes, bringing in around $1.3 billion globally.
Dornan continued: "Movies that are made for the fans that fans love can be seen as a success.
"I'm grateful that Dakota and I have managed to come out [in the years since] and make work that people still like and have had some of those said critics do a bit of a 180."
Fifty Shades of Grey scored 24% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed both scoring 11%
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