‘It Was The Hardest I’ve Ever Worked In My Life’

He is arguably one of Hollywood’s most captivating actors over the past decade with his Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy of films, but actor Jamie Dornan has effectively severed any attempts of typecasting him for roles since, as he continues to excel in the wide array of characters he chooses to take on today.

From his humorous turn in Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar to his critically-acclaimed performance in Belfast, Dornan has now found a project that allows him to display his many talents all at once in the six-part series The Tourist. Now streaming all of its episodes simultaneously on HBO Max, The Tourist centers around a man (Dornan) who finds himself with amnesia in the Australian outback as he searches for the missing pieces to his life before.

So, why did Dornan decide to take on this role of “The Man” in this elaborate tale? “I think it was just a mix of all the different elements that went into that show and the tone of it and how they’re constantly playing with genre almost,” Dornan tells me at Forbes. “There’s obviously a big thriller aspect to it, but it’s funny and it’s a peculiar funny. It’s a wacky, oddball, goofy, strange, sometimes very dark comedy aspect to it. You don’t often get all of those things wrapped up into one show, so the idea of playing a character that got to explore all of those different worlds and be surrounded by all that kind of madness was very intriguing to me.”

Dornan recalls filming The Tourist across the Australian terrain, calling the experience an intense shoot, often times filming with his cast & crew in the middle of nowhere. “I don’t think I realized how hard it was going to be, just the physical and mental strain of that comedy in those circumstances. Going through that for that amount of time was huge, it was insane, it was the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life but I loved it. I really, truly loved it.”

On a series filled with unexpected humor, heart-pounding action, and brilliantly layered characters that may not all seem as they appear, The Tourist will no doubt attract viewers as the mysteries unravel. One of Dornan’s co-stars, Australia native Danielle Macdonald, who plays local official “Helen Chambers” helping Dornan’s character find some answers, has nothing but kind words to say about her filming experience with the Irish actor.

“Jamie was so great,” Macdonald shares with me. “He is a really easy to work with guy. He’s super trustworthy – like instantly you feel safe in a scene with him, which is really good. He’s really funny – that’s still the most surprising part to me. I didn’t realize how funny he was before I met him. It was really easy to kind of see his dry humor play out in this series.”

Now seven years since the first of the Fifty Shades films was released in movie theaters, Dornan does not shy away from his beloved “Christian Grey” performance, but instead, maturely acknowledges the project that initially catapulted him onto Hollywood’s radar.

“I wouldn’t be getting these opportunities had I not been in a movie that big,” Dornan says. “$1.4 billion dollars in the box office. It’s a long career hopefully and I feel like I’ve always just wanted to keep doing stuff that challenges me, that maybe alters people’s perception of who I am, if in fact that’s all they know me as. Reality is made there will be people my whole career, no matter what I achieve, will only see me as that character. That’s fine, I’m cool with that, like if that’s all they’ve seen or all they want to see or whatever, sure. I’m thankful that in those intervening years post-, I’ve been able to do a real mix bag of stuff, you know? I feel really good about where I am and what I’m doing next. I think it’s really cool to have experienced something like that on that scale.”

Today in 2022, Dornan continues to strive in showcasing his versatile acting range, both on the big and small screen. Recently, Dornan was nominated for a “Best Supporting Actor” Golden Globe for his performance in Belfast, a “Best Ensemble” nomination with his cast at the SAG Awards last Sunday, and a “Best Supporting Actor” Critics’ Choice Award nomination, with the winner being announced on March 13. With Belfast also nominated for six Academy Awards, including “Best Picture” and “Best Original Screenplay,” I concluded my conversation with Dornan to ask how he feels about this continuing recognition for his work and that of his Belfast cast & crew leading up to the March 27 Oscars ceremony.

“We just want have fun at these actual shows. We’ve done all the work, we obviously did all the work a year and a half ago when we shot the movie – and then, there’s the whole campaign of it all and lots and lots of press, where sometimes we’ve been together and sometimes we haven’t. Sometimes, we’ve all been sat like this on Zoom and it has been frustrating sometimes because we all just want to share this experience together, so I can’t wait. Let’s enjoy it – no expectations because we’ve been sort of starved of those nights because of Covid for the most part. The pressure’s off, I feel very pride to be a part of something in a big way that has had that sort of impact, positive impact, attracted those awards and such. It is been crazy and it’s not why you do it and you don’t expect it, but it’s certainly fun when it happens (laughs).”