Jamie Dornan Felt Less Pressure Going Into ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Sequels

It may be hard to come up with a film adaptation of a novel that’s had more anticipation than Fifty Shades of Grey. Six weeks after its publication in 2012, the book had sold 10 million copies. The Boston Globe noted that, at one point, “two copies of the trilogy were selling every second.”

By the end of the first week of the trailer’s launch, it had more 100 million views over various Internet platforms. And when the full film was released in February 2015, numerous theaters sold out opening-night tickets on its way to an $85 million weekend.

Among those keenly aware of this was the actor who portrayed Christian Grey: Jamie Dornan. In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Dornan recalled how difficult i was to be under such intense scrutiny.

“Essentially, I feel like all of that pressure when you’re making the first of a franchise of [movies based on] books that mean so much to people, that has so much attention on it, it can be quite paralyzing,” he said. “I think a lot of that crept in the first time around, and it maybe affects the work.”

Now, though? Although fans of the novels by E.L. James are certainly eager to see the next installments, the fever pitch surrounding the first of the series has cooled. That had Dornan in a calmer state while working on them.

“A lot of the pressure of the first movie was gone,” he noted. “This time — I know because the movie’s made a lot of money — everyone’s relaxed a bit, so there wasn’t that pressure to set the tone for the movies, so I felt a little more freedom this time, and it probably made it more enjoyable.”

The Irish actor said he’s wrapped on both the second and third Fifty Shades movies. Darker is slated for a February 2017 release and Freed will arrive a year later.

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