For Jamie Dornan, playing Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades trilogy was one job out of many more to come. By adopting the role, Dornan became a star with a predominantly female fan base and was under immense pressure from the scrutiny of critics and public opinion alike. But rising to fast fame in Fifty Shades opened the doors for Dornan to act in Anthropoid and A Private War. Dornan says without his role in Fifty Shades, “I would not have been given those opportunities”. Likewise, Robert Pattinson starred in the Twilight series and Jennifer Lawrence in the Hunger Games, both of which helped propel these celebrities into the spotlight.

Recently, Dornan had a lot on his hands with A Private War, Robin Hood, HBO’s My Dinner with Herve, and BBC 2’s Death and Nightingales mini-series. He was also part of a new Drake Doremus indie alongside Shailene Woodley and Sebastian Stan.

Dornan had much to say on A Private War, a movie which earned him much acclaim. A Private War is backed by distributor Aviron and was nominated for two Golden Globes. In the movie, Dornan is a photojournalist, Paul Conroy, who reported on global conflicts with journalist Marie Colvin, played by Rosamund Pike. Conroy is best known for his coverage of Syria, where Marie died tragically six years ago.

Commenting on the movie, Dornan discussed the relevance of the film, given the current conflicts still brewing in Syria. He also put in a good word for journalists despite authority figures who often berate them.

While being recognized as Christian Grey slightly bothers Dornan, he is grateful for the experience and attention Fifty Shades provided for him. He is excited about his next films and reflects, “You just want to keep trying to improve yourself and better yourself”.