--- description: The Northern Irish actor says he visited S&M sex clubs to prepare for his role as Christian Grey title: Jamie Dornan Visited a Sex Club to Prepare for "Fifty Shades of Grey" image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt266504a9a973701c/69876f4b35ba6f2b5fc06059/jamie-dornan.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jamie Dornan Reveals He Visited Sex Dungeon to Prepare For _Fifty Shades of Grey_ by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 17, 2014 11:28 AM CUT  Jamie Dornan attends the GQ Men of the Year awards at The Royal Opera House on Sept. 2, 2014 in London. Jamie Dornan attends the GQ Men of the Year awards at The Royal Opera House on Sept. 2, 2014 in London.Mike Marsland—WireImage/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 17, 2014 11:28 AM CUT In the upcoming February [issue of _Elle UK_](http://www.elleuk.com/now-trending/meet-christian-grey-jamie-dornan-fifty-shades-dungeon "undefined"), Jamie Dornan reveals that he took his upcoming role in _Fifty Shades of Grey_ very seriously. The Northern Irish actor, who will play a billionaire who is into BDSM in the film adaptation of the best-selling book, said he even visited sex dungeons to get into character. “I went there, they offered me a beer, and they did…whatever they were into. I saw a dominant with one of his two submissives,” he told _ELLE_ about the experience. “I was like: ‘Come on guys I know I’m not paying for this but I am expecting a show.’ It was an interesting evening. Then going back to my wife and newborn baby afterwards… I had a long shower before touching either of them.” Presumably Dornan will also be drawing on his previous acting experience for the role. (The actor also plays a sadistic serial killer on the British drama _The Fall_.) “There are a couple of classic knots I know now,” [Dornan told _The Guardian_ earlier this year](http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/apr/21/jamie-dornan-interview-the-fall-fifty-shades-grey "undefined"). “I’ve put them to good use far too many times recently. In fact I’d like to do a job where I don’t have to tie women to beds.” Though Dornan doesn’t seem personally comfortable with the world of his character, at least fans can be assured that he’s well prepared. \[[_Elle UK_](http://www.elleuk.com/now-trending/meet-christian-grey-jamie-dornan-fifty-shades-dungeon "undefined")\] _Read next:_ [_Meet Christian Grey’s Family in New ‘Fifty Shades’ Photos_](http://time.com/3608404/christian-grey-family-fifty-shades-new-photos/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3637360/jamie-dornan-sex-dungeon-fifty-shades-of-grey/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3637360/jamie-dornan-sex-dungeon-fifty-shades-of-grey/"},"headline":"Jamie Dornan Reveals He Visited Sex Dungeon to Prepare For Fifty Shades of Grey","datePublished":"2014-12-17T11:28:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:55:47.425Z","description":"The Northern Irish actor says he visited S&M sex clubs to prepare for his role as Christian Grey","url":"https://time.com/3637360/jamie-dornan-sex-dungeon-fifty-shades-of-grey/","keywords":["movies","Fifty Shades of Grey","jamie dornan"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt266504a9a973701c/69876f4b35ba6f2b5fc06059/jamie-dornan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt266504a9a973701c/69876f4b35ba6f2b5fc06059/jamie-dornan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jamie Dornan","caption":"Jamie Dornan attends the GQ Men of the Year awards at The Royal Opera House on Sept. 2, 2014 in London.","creditText":"Mike Marsland—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3637360/jamie-dornan-sex-dungeon-fifty-shades-of-grey/","name":"Jamie Dornan Reveals He Visited Sex Dungeon to Prepare For Fifty Shades of Grey"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Fifty Shades Of Grey - Trailer","description":"Fifty Shades Of Grey - Trailer","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/GJv5ooq3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-07-24T13:17:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GJv5ooq3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3637360/jamie-dornan-sex-dungeon-fifty-shades-of-grey/","duration":"PT2M24S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3637360/jamie-dornan-sex-dungeon-fifty-shades-of-grey/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```