MovieChat Forums > Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) Discussion > Was Jamie Dornan like Grey in Book?

Was Jamie Dornan like Grey in Book?


I watched this for about 15 minutes with Wife and just hated Jamie Dornan playing grey. I never saw the book, but after watching grey for about 15 minutes I absolutely hated the Grey guy. Don't know if it was the actor playing him, or if that is how the character was supposed to be, but after about 15 minutes I said this guy is a major douche bag.

He just had no warmth as an actor, nothing redeemable about him. Honestly I felt like I wanted to punch him he was so douche. Was it just me?

WTF?

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In the book, Christian is a buttoned up,crisp talking,billionaire business mogul..keeps his feelings to himself, and gives nothing away...a hollow shell as far as I thought...as we never see him with any of his "subs", we have no way of knowing how he acts with women...but you get a few hints...he never takes them on dates...he never sleeps with them...he never introduces them to family or friends..in fact, Christian has no friends..his contracts are very detailed, and he doesn't like to be touched..Ana falls into his world...and everything changes..but he fights it...to no avail...I thought Jamie had Christian down pat.. and yes, Christian has his faults, and comes off cold sometimes....but that is the only life he has known...never had a girlfriend...never had to give and take..next book/movie he comes out of his shell..some for the good, some for the bad..

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Was it just me?

Yes

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Lol, Movie80 :-)

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If you are really interested, SushiK999, in understanding the character of Christian Grey, I suggest that you read the book(s). That's what I did after seeing the movie. And I think that it helped, of course, that after watching the movie, my thoughts on Christian Grey were quite the opposite of yours :-) I could understand, though, how you got the initial impression of him that you did. By the way, did you watch the whole movie or only about 15 minutes of it? Also, what did your wife think of Christian Grey, if you don't mind me asking?

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I agree...but I will say when I first read 50 Shades, at the end I thought he was a disturbed man...yes, she asked him to show her, and she wanted to know if she could take the pain, but it really put his need to inflict pain out front and center..what helped me the most was reading "Grey"...from his point of view...he was totally flabbergasted at her reaction...and told us why...and his session with his therapist afterwards made a big impression on me.

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Yeah, Isundling, I saw the movie before I ever read the books, and from early on in the movie I reached the same conclusion that you did about Christian being a guy with some major issues. But I was so fascinated with his character and the romantic nature of the story itself that I could not wait to read the books so that I could better understand everything. And it's always interesting to see the differences between books and the movie versions of them. Sometimes, those differences are an improvement and sometimes, they are not. One such difference was when Christian first told Ana about his birth mother--in the movie, Ana was asleep when Christian told her, but in the book, Ana was awake when Christian told her. Although I could understand him waiting to tell her that while she was asleep because he felt "safe" to do so then, that is the kind of personal information that she really needed to know about him. Also, I feel that it presented an intimate bonding moment for them. So, I think she should have been awake to hear it in the movie, like she was in the book. Also, there was a difference between the book and the movie in the actual words that Christian used to refer to his birth mother in that scene. Personally, I preferred the words he used in the movie for that scene. I wish the author had used those words instead and had Christian refer to her as his "birth mother" instead of what he calls her in the books. Just my preference :-) Happy New Year to you, Isundling, and to all who may read this post :-)

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I also watched the movie before reading the books. I read the second book first, because I was like gahhh that ending was terrible to the movie I HAVE to know what happens! The second book is by far m favorite, and I've read it 6 times now. The obsession I have with these books and movies is embarrassing! But I felt like Christian was a bit flat in the movie compared to his intensity in the book. I actually just made a post detailing how I could see Christian Grey while watching Jamie in The Fall. He plays a serial killer and he's very intense, so a lot of his demeanor and expressions really made me think of Christian! I think it may have been the writing for the movie, as I've read several reports that the first movie was made more lovey and lighter than the book, and I e read that the second will definitely be darker. So I'm hoping for a more intense Christian, which I think we'll get if its anything like the book. And I know Jamie can act the part, he's amazing for these roles IMO.

After reading all three books I couldn't want to read Grey, and I didn't exactly like the way he came off at first, it was a bit off putting to me, but once he started spending time with Ana he obviously softened and you could tell the depth of his feelings for her. I did love how it filled in the gaps like with him showing up at Claytons, the time gap between their meetings and graduation, etc. I loved how obsessed with her he was, and we obviously couldn't get the full extent of that from her perspective. I've read E.L. James is doing second book from Christians perspective, and I so hope it's true!

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Don't feel embarrassed, Hilly_Milly; I will reread a book or rewatch a movie or an episode of a TV show that I'm really into several times, too :-) And trust me, we are not the only ones. I love discovering things that I may have missed during my first read or watch. The second book may be my favorite, as well. As a matter of fact, I am in the process of rereading it. I have only seen the first season of The Fall so far, but I watched it before I watched Fifty Shades of Grey. And like you, I was very impressed with Jamie Dornan in The Fall. As for the Fifty Shades of Grey movie, I knew very little about it before I saw it. I think I remember seeing a small part of a preview for it on TV once or twice, but I didn't pay much attention to it at the time. I just remember seeing a guy and a girl in a passionate pose, and then some "faceless" guy running or jogging who was wearing a hoodie (and the words "possibly a stalker" came to mind when I saw him). Then, one night, I was up late trying to find something from the HBO On Demand movie list to watch until I was sleepy enough to go to bed. So, I just happened to select Fifty Shades of Grey from the list, thinking, "Okay, let's see what this is." And boy, did I see :-) I've been hooked ever since. I went back and rewatched the movie (obsessively so), especially with my favorite parts of it. I did that until I was able to read the books. And I was wondering if the author was going to do the second and third books from Christian's point-of-view, as well. That would be very "nice" if she does :-)

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I've read multiple reports that she's workin on the second book in his perspective so I hope they're true! I couldn't get into The Fall at first, but then I did and the second season, Jamie is much hotter lol. I hadn't known anything about the books before I watched the movie either, I only watched it after my friend and I were bad mouthing it and then she won free passes and watched it, then said it was actually really good. I cannot stand a bad ending on a movie, so after I watched, I was like I HAVE to know what will happen here!! So I read the second, then third, first, second again, and Grey in a matter of a week. I've been obsessively watching the movie as well, only favorite parts. I've just recently backed off from being so obsessed with it haha ? But second season The Fall=even better JD

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And the problem for me in the first book...which I guess really needs to happen...is it happens over such a short period of time..little over a month...so it is setting up the characters...setting up their predicament...and building up their very short relationship and then their break up...really, she was only with him 3 times for the whole movie...Book 2 and 3 spends way more time on them as a couple, living their lives day to day...and I enjoyed that so much more.

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Sushi, it's BOTH!

You aren't supposed to like Christian Grey until the 2nd book. He's a cold/calculating dominant that is looking for a cold/calculating relationship.

That being said, Dornan SUCKED in this role! While Grey isn't supposed to be warm, he IS supposed to have a pulse and SOME emotion!

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The book's Grey has dark copper hair. They got an Irish man to play Christian and still couldn't get the red hair. : )

But really, I actually liked the movie version better because he was harder than in the book. As far as Jamie Dornan, I like him in The Fall. He plays the same sort of distant, hard character. As Sheriff Graham in Once Upon a Time I think his character is different.

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OP, I had the same type of question. Was Grey a seriously intensely, complex and misunderstood character or is Jamie Dornen just a horrible actor. Good responses here.

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