Note: This interview was conducted in June prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.Jamie Dornan has had a fascinating career. One year he's playing a viciously disturbing serial killer (The Fall) and another he's the wooing audiences around the world as bad boy bachelor Christian Grey (Fifty Shades of Grey). One year he's hilariously dorky and singing to seagulls (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar), and now he's performing death-defying stunts in a massive action blockbuster opposite Gal Gadot. You just don't know with this guy.
There are more twists and turns in his career than a Shyamalan film, so it's fitting that he's starring in a new film with one of the best plot twists in years. Heart of Stone, the upcoming Netflix spy thriller, features Dornan as a member of MI6 in a special team with Gadot's character, Rachel Stone, who happens to by a spy for another, even more secretive agency. She's not quite a double agent or anything, but ultimately reports to the clandestine group which monitors the world for major problems. Dornan's character, Parker, is like the rest of the team — in the dark about Rachel's real identity.
It'd be a shame to spoil anything in Heart of Stone, but suffice it to say, the film is surfeit with gadgetry, gorgeous settings, explosive shootouts, and Gal Gadot, so it should make fans of spy thrillers and action cinema very happy. Back on Father's Day, Dornan took a break from being celebrated by his family to speak with MovieWeb about Heart of Stone, or at least, about what he could share. You can watch the video interview above.
How Not to Spoil Heart of Stone
Interviews are a bit odd when the subject is mysterious; you kind of have to talk around the material. We asked Dornan about the Herculean task of discussing a film with major spoilers — without giving anything away.
"Yeah, it's often a hurdle that you come up against when promoting films, if there's as many twists and turns as there are in Heart of Stone," explained Dornan. "It's always a wee bit tricky to navigate those waters." He continued:
But yeah, let's just say that, sometimes you get comfortable with what you think is happening, and then we turn you in a totally different direction. But it's all for the benefit of the film. And hopefully it makes it more exciting. It makes the characters more complex. So if you just stick with it — and I think from that opening 15 minutes of craziness, it will keep you hooked in — then just be ready for all kinds of craziness happening after that.
Jamie Dornan Wants to Experience it All
Gal Gadot is known by now for being a powerful magnetic force in the action space, thanks to franchise like Fast & Furious, Wonder Woman, and the other DC films, along with Red Notice. Dornan, for all his varied career, hasn't really starred in a major action blockbuster.
"It's kind of like just an area that I haven't explored, essentially, and my view of being an actor is to try to experience all of it, you know?" explained Dornan. He elaborated:
"Jesus, I've done a lot of very grounded drama stuff, done some sci-fi stuff, done big, broad comedy stuff. You know, I feel like I've been lucky that I've gotten to explore all these worlds, and this is one that I simply haven't explored yet. And for that very reason, it had a big appeal to me, not only to dip my toe into it, but dip my toe into it with these people, at this level, with Gal Gadot, Tom Harper, Netflix, Skydance. Greg [Rucka and Allison Schroeder] wrote this script, it was a pretty cool entry into the world of action movies."
Dornan and Gadot's chemistry sparkles, the action veteran and the action newbie but with a bit of a gender switch. Dornan's romantic roles since appearing in the 50 Shades of Grey films have been subtler or very different; does he ever avoid revisiting the Christian Grey character type, or worry that filmmakers will adjust any romance or sexuality of his character based on those successful films?
"I honestly just don't think about that," replied Dornan. "If I thought about that, it would be better detrimental to everyone else around me and what we're trying to do. I can't control if other people have some sort of pre-ordained perception of me, what kind of characters that I've played, or the ones that they know of. If they can't shake off other characters that I've done before and get themselves into what they're watching, that's on them. I don't know, but it's something I certainly don't worry about often or give any thought to."
Good for him. As he's proven time and time again, Dornan can inhabit just about any type of character in a wide range of films. It's a real delight to see him in Heart of Stone, yet again outside his comfort zone — wherever that may be.
Heart of Stone is a production of Skydance, Pilot Wave, and Mockingbird Pictures, and will be available to stream here on Netflix beginning Aug. 11th.