--- description: "I consider myself quite lighthearted" title: 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Star Jamie Dornan Wants You to Know He Isn't Really a Sick Psychopath image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt792f807f12bcf1c8/698784a6428a9e5867cc7bf2/463282002.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 # Fifty Shades of Grey Star Jamie Dornan Wants You to Know He Isn't Really a Sick Psychopath by [Tara Fowler / People](/author/people/) ## Tara Fowler / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 21, 2015 12:44 PM CUT  Jamie Dornan attends the UK Premiere of "Fifty Shades Of Grey" at Odeon Leicester Square on Feb 12, 2015 in London. Jamie Dornan attends the UK Premiere of "Fifty Shades Of Grey" at Odeon Leicester Square on Feb 12, 2015 in London.Samir Hussein—WireImage/Getty Images by [Tara Fowler / People](/author/people/) ## Tara Fowler / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 21, 2015 12:44 PM CUT [Jamie Dornan](http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:JaymieDornan,00.html "undefined") may be known for playing sick psychopaths onscreen, but he swears he isn’t_really_ one in real life. “I consider myself quite lighthearted, pretty easygoing, and I keep playing sick psychopath bastards!” he told U.K.’s [_The Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/18/jamie-dornan-i-keep-playing-sick-psychopaths-it-worries-me "undefined") in a recent interview. “It kinda worries me sometimes how comfortable I am in that zone.” He credits one of those psychopaths with jump-starting his career: [_The Fall_](http://www.people.com/article/the-fall-renewed-season-3-jamie-dornan "undefined")‘s Paul Spector, a loving father of two who also happens to be a serial killer. “That show has given me everything,” he said. “It’s a serious bit of f—ing culture and just such a treat to do. I know that every opportunity I get from now on is because of _The Fall_.” And then of course, there’s Christian Grey, the BDSM-obsessed billionaire at the heart of [_Fifty Shades of Grey_](http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,MediaProductsTax:BookFiftyShadesofGrey,00.html "undefined"), which dominated the U.S. box office Valentine’s Day weekend. He understands why the role could seem like a bad career choice, but he doesn’t regret taking it, despite [rumors](http://www.people.com/article/jamie-dornan-looking-forward-fifty-shades-sequel "undefined") to the contrary. “I knew with \[director\] Sam \[Taylor-Johnson\], and \[cinematographer\] Seamus McGarvey, the film would be in safe hands,” he said. “And, you know, it does no harm to be in a film that makes half a billion dollars.” Now, he just has to figure out how to deal with the sometimes embarrassing encounters with fans. Once, Dornan took his 16-month-old daughter Dulcie to a playgroup that was coincidentally held at a cinema showing _Fifty Shades_. He used his little girl as a mask to cover his face so he could escape. That doesn’t mean he’s not planning on returning for the hotly anticipated[sequels](http://www.people.com/article/fifty-shades-sequels "undefined"). “That was always the plan,” he said, referring to whether he’d be back for _Fifty Shades 2_ and _3_. He hopes to see Taylor-Johnson on board once again as well. “The plan was always for her to do them, so hopefully that will happen,” Dornan said. “But I don’t think it’s going to be imminent.” ### Before 50 Shades: Photographs of the S&M Underground  Pandora's Box, The Dungeon. New York City, 1995. Susan Meiselas—Magnum Photos  Pandora's Box, Maid slave, New York City. 1995. Susan Meiselas—Magnum Photos  Pandora's Box, Client lounge. New York City, 1995. Susan Meiselas—Magnum Photos  USA. New York City. 1995\. Pandora's Box, Mistress Catherine after the Whipping I, The Versailles Room. Susan Meiselas—Magnum Photos  A dominatrix and her slave in the Dungeon of Belle du Jour, New York City, 1984. Donna Ferrato  Andrew the Rug at Paddles Club, New York City, 1986 Donna Ferrato  High Heels, New York City. 2006. Bruce Gilden—Magnum Photos  Sex toys. Amsterdam, 1998. Martin Parr—Magnum Photos  Sex toys. Amsterdam, 1998. Martin Parr—Magnum Photos  Teenage girl wearing a black dominatrix mask. Tokyo, 2000. Martin Parr—Magnum Photos  A Lesbian wedding in London. The man in the photo had apparently insulted one of the women, by falling in love with her and asking her to marry him. He had to be punished. He would come to the wedding for his wipping and bring his own whips. He was photographed in a bathing cap, childs rubber training pants and a petticoat, being whipped by the bridal pair after which the girl he loved walked on his belly in stiletto heels. London, 1965. Eve Arnold—Magnum Photos  A Lesbian wedding in London a man is photographed in a bathing cap, childs rubber training pants and a petticoat, being whipped by the bridal pair after which the girl he loved walked on his belly in stiletto heels. London, 1965. Eve Arnold—Magnum Photos  Strike Dear Mistress, & Cure His Heart, Hell's Kitchen, New York City, 2013. Victor Cobo  "Femme Fatale Vixen III" Oakland, CA 2004. Victor Cobo  "I Could Sleep For A Thousand Years" Oakland, CA 2004. Victor Cobo _This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/fifty-shades-of-grey-jamie-dornan-not-sick-psychopath "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com/people/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3753286/fifty-shades-of-grey-jamie-dornan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3753286/fifty-shades-of-grey-jamie-dornan/"},"headline":"Fifty Shades of Grey Star Jamie Dornan Wants You to Know He Isn't Really a Sick Psychopath","datePublished":"2015-03-21T12:44:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:57.025Z","description":"\"I consider myself quite lighthearted\"","url":"https://time.com/3753286/fifty-shades-of-grey-jamie-dornan/","keywords":["movies","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt792f807f12bcf1c8/698784a6428a9e5867cc7bf2/463282002.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara Fowler / People"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt792f807f12bcf1c8/698784a6428a9e5867cc7bf2/463282002.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jamie Dornan","caption":"Jamie Dornan","creditText":"Samir Hussein—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/3753286/fifty-shades-of-grey-jamie-dornan/","name":"Fifty Shades of Grey Star Jamie Dornan Wants You to Know He Isn't Really a Sick Psychopath"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Super Fans React To 50 Shades of Grey Screening","description":"Super fans who attended an early screening of the 50 Shades of Grey movie at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City had a lot to say about the film, which is set to release on February 13th.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QjE5FVDr/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-06T21:10:27.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QjE5FVDr.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3753286/fifty-shades-of-grey-jamie-dornan/","duration":"PT1M27S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3753286/fifty-shades-of-grey-jamie-dornan/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```