The Fall killer Jamie Dornan to star in Fifty Shades of Grey

By Patrick McLennan
( What's on TV )
published

Northern Irish actor Jamie Dornan has been cast in the much speculated-upon role of depraved billionaire Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie.

English actor Charle Hunnam recently dropped out of the role, citing schedule clashes with other productions.

Jamie, 31, is best known as the serial killer in hit BBC2 crime thriller The Fall, opposite Gillian Anderson.

He also currently stars in US TV series Once Upon a Time, while he played a Swedish count in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette.

According to The Guardian, he has also modelled for Calvin Klein, Christian Dior and Armani.

Fifty Shades of Grey producers apparently made the decision to cast the County Down-born actor after screen testing him with Dakota Johnson, who remains in the lead female role of Anastasia Steele. Fifty Shade is expected to be the first of a trilogy based on British author EL James's three bestselling novels and will be released in August 2014.

Jamie's casting has yet to be officially announced by Universal.

 

Patrick McLennan
Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.