Jamie Dornan

James Peter Maxwell Dornan (; born 1 May 1982) is an actor, model, and musician from Northern Ireland. The recipient of two Irish Film and Television Awards, he has been nominated for a BAFTA Television Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 2020, he was named one of Ireland's greatest film actors by ''The Irish Times''.

Initially beginning his career as a model in 2001, he appeared in campaigns for Hugo Boss, Dior Homme, and Calvin Klein. Dubbed "the Golden Torso" by ''The New York Times'', he was ranked one of the "25 Biggest Male Models of All Time" by '' Vogue'' in 2015. In addition, he performed in the folk band Sons of Jim until 2008.

Dornan made his acting debut in 2006 with Sofia Coppola's drama film ''Marie Antoinette''. Afterwards, he had minor roles in various independent films and television shows, that included Sheriff Graham Humbert in the series ''Once Upon a Time'' (2011–2013). He earned critical acclaim portraying serial killer Paul Spector in the crime drama series '' The Fall'' (2013–2016), for which he was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. His profile grew with roles such as Christian Grey in the ''Fifty Shades'' franchise (2015–2018), Jan Kubiš in '' Anthropoid'' (2016), Edgar Pagét in '' Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar'' (2021), and Pa in ''Belfast'' (2021), receiving a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for the lattermost. He also played the lead role of Elliot Stanley/Eugene Cassidy in the thriller drama series '' The Tourist'' (2022–2024).

Early life

Dornan was born on 1 May 1982 in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland, and grew up in the suburbs of Belfast. His mother, Lorna, died of pancreatic cancer when Dornan was 16. His father Jim Dornan, an obstetrician and gynaecologist who had also considered becoming an actor, died from complications related to COVID-19 on 15 March 2021. He has echoed his father's support throughout his career, stating: " ..Some people go their whole lives without being told, 'You've made your parents proud'. My dad would tell me every day."

Dornan has two older sisters: Liesa, who works for Disney in London, and Jessica, a fashion designer based in Falmouth, Cornwall, England. He is a first cousin, twice removed, of actress Greer Garson. His grandparents on both sides of his family were Methodist lay preachers.

He attended and boarded at Methodist College Belfast, where he played rugby and participated in the drama department. In school, he appeared in a Christmas pantomime portraying Widow Twankey which earned him his first drama prize. He also played Baby Face in '' Bugsy Malone'' and the milkman in '' Blood Brothers'' during school productions. He was a member of Belfast's youth amateur drama group, Holywood Players and participated in the Ballymoney Drama Festival with this group on several occasions. He played rugby as a winger for the Belfast Harlequins and also for Ulster Rugby under-21 team. He later claimed that he could have played professionally if not for a foot and mouth viral infection that broke out during his time on the under-21 team.

He attended Teesside University but dropped out and moved to London in 2002 to train as an actor, but never applied to drama school. He worked in a pub in Knightsbridge for six months until he embarked on his modelling career.

Initial career

Music

Dornan performed in the folk band Sons of Jim until it disbanded in 2008. He founded the band with his schoolmate David Alexander and formed their own record label Doorstep Records under which they published their songs "Fairytale" and "My Burning Sun". Sons of Jim supported Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall on tour.

Modelling

After dropping out of university, in 2001 Dornan took part in the Channel 4 reality show '' Model Behaviour''. He was eliminated, but signed a modelling contract with Select Model Management. Dornan was not keen to pursue modelling as a career, but was persuaded by his sisters. In 2003, he modelled for Abercrombie & Fitch with Malin Åkerman. He then modelled for Aquascutum, Hugo Boss, and Armani. In 2005, he became the face of Dior Homme's fragrance advertising campaign. Dornan's first appearance in Calvin Klein's advertising campaign was in 2004 with Russian model Natalia Vodianova. His later notable works for the brand include the jeans advertising campaigns with Kate Moss in 2006 and with Eva Mendes in 2010. In 2009, he was made the face of Calvin Klein's 'CK Free' fragrance and also appeared as a judge in its model hunt competition, ''Nine countries, nine men, one winner'' that year. In 2006, he was labelled "The Golden Torso" by ''The New York Times'' and was dubbed the "male Kate Moss" by '' GQs creative director Jim Moore.

Dornan also appeared in commercials for Dolce & Gabbana, Zara, Banana Republic, and Levi's Jeans. In 2015 he was ranked one of the "25 Biggest Male Models of All Time" by ''Vogue''. After his acting breakthrough, he became the new face of "Boss The Scent" for Hugo Boss in 2018 and starred in the Fall/Winter Men's Fashion Campaign for Spanish luxury fashion brand Loewe in 2023, also becoming their global brand ambassador the following year. During his career, he worked with fashion photographers Bruce Weber, Carter Smith, as well as designer Hedi Slimane. Dornan never participated in ramp walks because of his unconventional style of walking.

Acting career

2006–2012: Career beginnings

Dornan's first acting role in a film was as Count Axel Fersen in the Sofia Coppola film ''Marie Antoinette'' (2006). Afterwards, he unsuccessfully auditioned for many roles while appearing in films ''Beyond the Rave'' (2008), '' Shadows in the Sun'' (2009). When asked if the transition into an acting career was problematic, Dornan stated that the "model turned actor" label held a significant stigma. He struggled with auditions and casting agents who treated him only as a model, but he had always wanted to act and so, auditioned in the pilot season in Los Angeles. Initially interested in comedy, he had meetings with Funny or Die, wrote a comic blog for them that did not get published, he recalled: "I used to always want to do comedy, and then I just didn't. I ended up quite far away from that path."

Dornan appeared in nine episodes of the ABC fantasy television series ''Once Upon a Time'' between 2011 and 2013, playing the role of the Huntsman/Sheriff Graham. While Graham was killed by the town's mayor Regina/the Evil Queen in the episode "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter", Dornan confirmed that he would return as the Huntsman from the Enchanted Forest at some point. He returned as the Huntsman for the season finale " A Land Without Magic", and later as Graham for the season two episode " Welcome to Storybrooke" in its flashback segment.

2013–2015: Breakthrough with ''The Fall'' and ''Fifty Shades'' trilogy

Dornan's breakout role was alongside Gillian Anderson in the Northern Irish drama series ''The Fall'', where he played Paul Spector, a serial killer terrorising Belfast. He initially auditioned for the role of a police officer, but was later called upon to audition for the lead role, for which he was eventually selected. He read books about serial killers and watched interviews of Ted Bundy to get an understanding of the mindset of his character, and stalked a woman in his preparation for the role. He wanted to play the character with "real stillness". Beginning in 2013, the show aired for three series ending in October 2016. Critic Ken Tucker opined that Dornan was "handsome and skilled". David Thomson of ''The New Republic'' complimented him on his performance: "Jamie Dornan as Paul, has become the center of the drama in a performance that unpeels as slowly as a stripper- and maybe as seductively." He won the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in Television and was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. He has said ''The Fall'' changed his professional horizons. He later appeared in '' Flying Home'' (2014), a romantic drama film and ''New Worlds'' (2015), a historical drama series.

In 2013, Dornan was cast as Christian Grey in the film adaptation of '' Fifty Shades of Grey'', replacing Charlie Hunnam. The film was released in February 2015, breaking box office records. He visited a private sex dungeon as preparation for playing his sadistic character. He reprised his role in the second and third installments of the ''Fifty Shades'' film franchise, '' Fifty Shades Darker'' (2017), and '' Fifty Shades Freed'' (2018). Earning approximately $1.32 billion, the franchise became the seventh highest-grossing R-rated franchise. Despite being a box office blockbuster, the trilogy was poorly received by critics, with Dornan's performance being critically panned. He later stated that initially he was reluctant about his involvement in the project and knew the franchise would not be treated well by critics. But he has said: " ..it's given me so much beyond finance-wise, I mean that opportunity to then do the movies ..movies like that have so much heart and mean so much to me. I would not have been given those opportunities if I hadn't done ''Fifty Shades''."

2016–2021: Transition to independent film roles and ''Belfast''

In 2016, Dornan starred as Commandant Pat Quinlan, who led the Irish UN force during The Siege of Jadotville, in Netflix's war film '' The Siege of Jadotville''. He was sent to a boot camp in South Africa with the rest of the cast to train for the film. The film got released at the Galway Film Festival 2016, receiving mixed reviews. Writing for ''The Irish Times,'' critic Donald Clarke took note of Dornan's "suave acting". He received a nomination for the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor − Film. His second screen appearance that year was as Jan Kubiš, alongside Cillian Murphy in another war film ''Anthropoid''. Jan Kubiš was one of the Czech soldiers involved in Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. Rupert Hawksley of ''The Daily Telegraph'' felt that he made a decent fist of portraying Kubiš and said: "Nazi nail-biter Anthropoid shows Jamie Dornan has many more than 50 shades". For the film, he received nominations for the British Independent Film Award and Czech Lion Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in a Miramax film titled '' The 9th Life of Louis Drax'', a supernatural thriller based on a book of the same name, in 2016.

In 2018, Dornan co-starred alongside Peter Dinklage, as a journalist Danny Tate, in the HBO television film '' My Dinner with Hervé'', written and directed by Sacha Gervasi. The film narrated a fictional take on Gervasi's interview with actor Hervé Villechaize in 1993, days before his suicide. Matthew Gilbert of ''The Boston Globe'' said: "The Danny plot is fine - nothing special really, although Dornan is excellent and manages to bring a good sense of transformation to an underwritten character". In the same year, Dornan portrayed photojournalist Paul Conroy in the biographical drama '' A Private War''. Ann Hornaday, writing for ''The Washington Post'', described Dornan's performance as "gallantly self-effacing". Kenneth Turan of ''Los Angeles Times'' thought it was an "excellent work from the ''Fifty Shades'' veteran". His other roles in 2018 include Will Scarlet in the action film ''Robin Hood'', Liam Ward in the miniseries '' Death and Nightingales'' (reuniting with ''The Fall'' creator Allan Cubitt), and Nick, a doctor and memoirist, in the drama film '' Untogether'', with each production, and Dornan's performance in them, receiving lukewarm reception.

In 2019, Dornan starred as a paramedic in the science fiction thriller film ''Synchronic''. It had its world premiere at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival, receiving positive reviews from critics. His other role that year, was of an Irish writer, Jack in the semi-improvised romantic drama '' Endings, Beginnings''.

Dornan then appeared in two comedy films, '' Wild Mountain Thyme'' (2020) and ''Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar'' (2021). ''Wild Mountain Thyme'', John Patrick Shanley's film adaptation of his own play '' Outside Mullingar'', was poorly received and was criticised for accent inaccuracy. Dornan starred as Anthony Reilly, a bashful farmer unable to confess his love for Rosemary Muldoon (Emily Blunt). While critic Christy Lemire praised his dramatic work but was less impressed by his attempt at physical comedy, Simran Hans of ''The Guardian'' described his performance as "a commendable feat of comic brilliance, not to be missed". Playing a "lovestruck henchman" Edgar in ''Barb and Star,'' he won plaudits from critics for his musical number and comedic turn. Writing for ''TheWrap'', Alonso Duralde addressed his ballad as "a definite highlight" of the film and said: "While it's definitely nnieMumolo and ristenWiig's show all the way, Dornan winds up being surprisingly capable at holding his own against these two dynamos".

In 2020, ''The Irish Times'' listed him at number 32 among the 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time.

In 2021, Dornan portrayed a working class father in Kenneth Branagh's drama film ''Belfast'', the character being based on Branagh's father. His performance received critical acclaim. Critic Peter Travers wrote on ''Good Morning America'': "Dornan, free of the s&m sex trap of the ''50 Shades of Grey'' trilogy, builds on his virtuoso turn on ''The Fall'' to show an actor of ferocity and feeling as he invests Pa, often absent from home for construction work in England, with simmering emotion and quiet strength". He received nominations for the Golden Globe Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film was nominated for Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards.

2022–present: Career expansion, ''The Tourist''

After ''Belfast'', he played the lead role of Elliot Stanley/Eugene Cassidy, an amnesiac trying to learn about his past, in BBC thriller series ''The Tourist''. Debuting on BBC iPlayer in January 2022, it became the most watched drama of that year in the UK. He himself and critics alike found his character challenging. In a review for ''The Guardian'', TV critic Lucy Mangan highlighted Dornan's "compelling performance" and found him in "fine form". For his performance he received a nomination for the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama and was featured on the Radio Times's TV 100 power list in 2023. He reprised his role in the second series in 2024.

He returned to mainstream cinema in 2023, appearing in Netflix's poorly received action film '' Heart of Stone'' as an MI6 agent Parker, who was the antagonist

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