Jamie Dornan blasts casting critics for typecasting actors

Jamie Dornan, critics, 50 Shades of Grey, The Batman

Jamie Dornan is getting sick and tired of casting critics taking actors to task for accepting prominent roles. Dornan, who played Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, recently spoke with Esquire about his frustrations, and he was not shy about letting the expletives fly.

“Prejudgment is such a fucking disease,” Dornan told Esquire. “It’s a disease in all our culture. In my line of work, sure. But in general, people prejudge people based on fucking anything really, and it’s very sad. Look at the reaction when Rob got cast as Batman. It was like 90 percent negative.”

Dornan added, “Daniel Craig got cast as James Bond — I mean, that was 100 percent negative. It was vile what was written. It was actually disturbing when you see the fucking venomous anger that people have over casting decisions. And then guess what? Daniel Craig is fucking brilliant, and it changes the whole energy of Bond.”

Additionally, “all the naysayers love what Rob has done with Batman,” Dornan said about his friend, Robert Pattinson, playing the World’s Greatest Detective.

While we’re on the topic of notable roles, Dornan’s name appears on the shortlist of actors rumored to take on the part of James Bond after Daniel Craig departs from the franchise. Other actors on the list include Regé-Jean Page, Henry Cavill, and Idris Elba, all of which are hot-to-trot in Hollywood. Should none of them be eligible for the part, given their status in the film industry? Does Hollywood need to sift through headshots for an unknown?

“It’s fun, and it’s a cool thing to be in the mix for that sort of thing,” Dornan said. “I do think it’s very transparent in terms of if you look at that list, there’s not one person on that list who doesn’t have some content at the moment that’s doing well.”

Dornan recently appeared as Pa in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast and stars alongside Gal Gadot in The Tourist TV series for BBC One. He’s currently filming Heart of Stone for director Tom Harper.

Do you agree with Dornan’s take on critics being censorious about big-ticket roles? Would Dornan make for a good James Bond? Please sound off in the comments section below, and let us know what you think.

Source: Esquire

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He's also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You'll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.