Happy Sad Confused - Jamie Dornan (2022)

Episode Date: August 14, 2023

With the release of HEART OF STONE, we're revisiting our 2022 chat with Jamie Dornan! Enjoy this career chat, from his beginnings alongside the likes of Eddie Redmayne and Andrew Garfield to FIFTY SHADES OF GREY to BELFAST. SUPPORT THE SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! ZocDoc -- Go to ZocDoc.com/HappySad NordVPN -- 🌏 Get Exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/HappySad It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌ RocketMoney -- Go to RocketMoney.com/HSC To watch episodes of Happy Sad Confused, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Josh's youtube channel here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the Volvo Fall Experience event, discover exceptional offers and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of room for autumn adventures. And see for yourself how Volvo's legendary safety brings peace of mind to every crisp morning commute. This September, leased a 2026 XC90 plug-in hybrid from $599 bi-weekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall Experience event.

Conditions apply, visit your local Volvo retailer or go to explorevolvo.com. Td Bank knows that running a small business is a journey, from startup to growing and managing your business. That's why they have a dedicated small business advice hub on their website to provide tips and insights on business banking to entrepreneurs, no matter the stage of business you're in. Visit td.com slash small business advice to find out more

or to match with a TD small business banking account manager. Okay, it's official. We are very much in the final sprint to election day. And face it, between debates, polling releases, even court appearances. It can feel exhausting, even impossible to keep up with. I'm Brad Milkey. I'm the host of Start Here, the Daily Podcast from ABC News. And every morning, my team and I get you caught up on the day's news in a quick, straightforward way that's easy to understand with just enough context so you can listen, get it, and go on with your day. Kickstart your morning, Start Smart with Start Here and ABC News, because staying informed shouldn't feel overwhelming. My whole aim in life is to never get outside that sort of top three famous Belfast actors list. Are there rankings that move around? Do you like check the current rankings day by day? Yeah, it's usually, you know, between Liam Neeson and me hopping back and forth, depending on what releases we have, you know. But if I drop out of that top three, I'm screwed, because that is how they cast. Maybe.

Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. I'm Josh Horowitz. Today on Happy Sad Confused, it's Jamie Dornan in a special rewind episode of Happy Sad Confused, from 50 Shades of Grey to Belfast and so much more. Hey guys, thanks so much for joining me as always. This is a bonus episode of Happy Sad Confused. If you're watching on YouTube, you see my adorable dog.

adorable dog, Lucy, in the background. She's a big fan of Jamie Dornan's everybody is. We thought, with the new film out on Netflix getting a bazillion views, Heart of Stone, the big ginormous action spy thriller with Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan, it was a great opportunity to bring back this conversation with Jamie on the podcast feed

and on YouTube if you're watching for the first time making this video available for everybody. Very few people have seen the video form of this conversation. So finally, once and for all, you can enjoy this long-form chat with the delightful Jamie Dornan. This is a great career chat. It is obviously, as I said, it's a rewind episode, so taped way before the strike. This was, in fact, taped about a year and a half ago when Belfast was on everybody's mind, that delicious performance in that great film from Kenneth Brana. We talk a lot about Belfast, Katrina Balfe, Jamie's beginning,

the actors he came up with, from Eddie Redmayne to Andrew Garfield, 50 Shades of Gray, that time he almost got in there to play Superman. It's a great chat with one of my favorites, the delightful Jamie Dornan, and like I said, it felt like a good opportunity to revisit a rare, long-form conversation with Jamie while you're all binging his latest giant action movie on Netflix Heart of Stone. Before I toss to them, main conversation. Remember, review, rate, subscribe to happy, say I get infused, wherever you get your podcast on Spotify or wherever. If you're on YouTube, click on that like, subscribe button, make sure you don't miss a chat. We've got a great one coming up later this

week. I'll say it right now. We have David Harbour coming up in a brand new conversation. That's fantastic. Lots more coming in the future weeks. Filmmakers and hopefully some actors when we get into festival season. The sag strike continues as we tape this, but we're hoping there's some dispensation for actors to do some press in particular circumstances. So anyway, let's get to the main event.

For those that never have heard or seen this conversation, this is a good one with one of the most charming Irish gentleman I know. Please enjoy my conversation circa January 2020 with the one and only Jamie Dornan.

Finally, at long last, Jamie Dornan. Jamie, I don't know what, I guess it's, this is the pricey paper, being in a classy movie, is you finally have to do the podcast. Welcome to Happy Say I Confused, Buddy. Thank you. I am delighted to be here. He is well hydrated. He just showed off his four chocolate biscuits that I've never, I've never wished my hand

could reach through a screen more than right now. I'm going to start with the first chocolate biscuit right now. Are you one of these people that just genetically can eat anything they want and they will never put on the weight? Good, good call on shoving a biscuit in your mouth as a podcast. And we're off. I'm someone who would struggle to put on weight. And I know to many people that's not an affliction, but I find it. to be having somebody always play a lot of sport particularly as a kid and often

play my main sport was rugby where you needed to be bigger and i always felt like the skinny kid who couldn't do it even though i played well but i um always felt that was holding me back so it's always bothered me that um i can't put on weight and i'm still a bit like that now i um i guess not most people 99. right 9% people find it very lucky to have fast metabolism stuff and i've always not liked it. Well, look, I'll take any kind of self-loathing I can get. I mean, if it's the other direction from me, that's okay. As long as there is loathing and a feeling of inadequacy, then I'm good. Yeah, good. Well, then you're covered with this. So, congratulations on Belfast for the gajillionth time. I assume this doesn't get old, but look, you've been in every kind of

project, every kind of reviews in your career, every kind of like good, bad, medium accolades. But this is the one that I feel like, you know, we're always chasing. Actors are always chasing. This is the one that like really checks all the boxes. Does it feel like in some ways this is kind of like, oh, yeah, this is what I've been kind of like racing after for 15, 20 years? Yeah, sort of, you know, it's kind of like, you sort of don't know what it's going to be. Yeah, look, it's easy to say that in the line because of the response.

But like, yeah, let's look at it, like, from the beginnings of, like, the origins of it, like being sent the script, being told, it's Kenneth Branagh writing, directing it, it's Dame Judy Dens is playing your mother, Karen Hines, playing your dad, Katrina Balth is playing your wife. I only knew about one of it. I only knew about Judy Densch at the beginning when it came to me. That alone is enough to be like, oh, Jesus, you know, this might be something. You know, hopefully it is.

This script's incredible. If we get this right, it could really be something. But even then, you never know. I've had situations where I felt brilliant about something on set and then, you know, it hasn't had, it had love, but maybe not the love we were expecting, whatever it is. So with hindsight, maybe it's easy to say because there has been so much love for this. But, you know, I've always, you know, your job is so much easier if you've got good words to say and a good director. I mean, it's as simple as that, you know, and I feel that that's what's happened here, you know. It's happened a few times before for me, but, you know, I think I always kind of live by that Peter O'Toole, quote of great words, make great actors, you know.

I think if you've got to a certain level, you're obviously got something to offer and then so that when, and then when those good opportunities come your way, you know, you take them and hope that people respond. Well, and as you well know, it's so much is out of the control, even if you make the great film that you're so proud of for any number of a thousand reasons, the wrong distributor, the wrong distributor, the wrong. wrong time, whatever, no one ever sees it. So like, again, this one just thankfully resonated, resonate at the festivals, founded audience, continues to find the audience. So it's just blessing upon blessing, I would think. Yeah. It's just a combination of all those things and timing being everything and, you know, even as simple as like me being Ken, the lockdown happening in him, giving him the space to write a story that's based on his life that's been in his head for 50 years and me being the right age and at the right stage of my career or whatever that I made

sense you know all those things you know it's all it's about all of that you know I'd be if I was in between ages for the characters and this and I saw that this was made I'd be like oh how annoying they're making a movie by my hometown and I'm not right for it you know so it's a combination of all that lock and timing but it's it's a good feeling is the rumor true that that can just basically googled belfast actor and your your name just happened to pop up It is true. Yeah. My whole, you know, aim in life is to never get outside that sort of top three famous Belfast actors list because... Are the rankings that move around? Do you, like, check the current rankings day by day? Yeah, it's usually, you know, between Liam Neeson and me hopping back and forth, depending on what releases we have, you know.

But if I drop out of that top three, I'm screwed, because that is how the cast movies, you know. is it poor form or a weird thing to ask a director like why you cast me what did you see in me what did you ask for me is that is that for me sort of question i ask every single director um uh particularly for someone like ken because when i was said like he wants you to he's making a film called belfast he'd love you to do it um we're going to send your script tonight read it as fast as you can whatever i read it that night spoke to can next day said yes immediately and um um I for that sort of thing because it's kind of brown and we're talking about you know absolute legend in the industry and stuff there is a part of you thinking like is this some

sort of mistake does he think I'm somebody else um and then because it was really like he wants you to you're the guy like he's not talking to anyone else okay and then I so read the script thinking how small is this part going to be I mean this is going to be it's an excellent right yeah you know and by the way would have been fine with that sure um and then realized how big it was i'm like jesus right okay this is serious and then to my other amazement ken had seen everything i'd ever done and i mean small stuff that you probably haven't even said like everything and uh still wanted me after seeing the whole stuff so um i was amazed by the whole thing but um thank god he he did um i talked to your buddy katrina balfe on the podcast pretty recently i asked her a

of this that i'll ask you you know as people know by now i'm sure this is obviously a very personal story for ken and based on his own life growing up his parents um when you're approaching the father character is it is it a blend of his dad what's in the script your own father and where they all meet give me a sense of sort of that that kind of magical blend yeah i think it is ends up being you know a sort of um an irish stew of different influences, but it really does essentially boiled. I've got to get off cooking analogies, but it's boiled down to.

You've got three. It's waiting for you. You're really. The very root of a stew is a script. You know, that is what, that is all we have to go on to begin with. And then everything's built around that and your own influences. And certainly my dad was an influence on. the character I played and his dad before him and everything I knew about.

I come from a long line of men from Belfast, so I have a lot to mind there. And then it's, you know, the access to Ken to be, you know, to be able to ask him, what his father would have, how he would have responded in this situation. But then the great thing about it, and I'm sure, you know, Katrina said the same was that Ken was never trying to sort of iron fist us in to kind of like, my parents were, you must act like this. It was very much giving us a freedom to do what we wanted to with it.

And that is a massive thing, Josh. Like that is so huge as an actor. Like, it's all you're looking for, really, I believe is to feel that you're trusted. And with that trust, you gain a confidence and a freedom. that makes doing your job so much easier like it's it's night and day between i've been involved and stuff where i have felt the opposite of that i felt that there's lots of people whispering behind

thinking they made a bad decision and i shouldn't be there and it is paralyzing that experience truly paralyzing and i was going to say i i would imagine it's because that version of it that you didn't have is like you're chasing something unattainable something a vision in someone else's brain that can't be communicated and at least in this kind of collaborative um relationship it's you're a part of the process as opposed to like guessing at what someone wants isn't seeing exactly i think you said it well like fighting against something and fighting against an opinion of a director fighting against a script fighting against uh what the character's doing or you know how high what your um take on it can sometimes be very different

different to the filmmakers take, even though that's not what seemed to be before you started shooting stuff. But it was just very cohesive, this whole thing. We all felt like we were in tune with each other at all times. The actors, all of them, and Ken, it was just always very like there's zero friction onset at any given time and that your whole experience

and usually the outcome's gonna be better, if that's the case. You mentioned your dad. And you know, you've been frank about this and talking about, you know, my condolences, man, you lost your dad last year. I know, I mean, I know what that's like. I lost my dad the year before.

And it's, you know, a sea change, Needles to say, I'm curious in talking, in talking about him in this process, has it been cathartic? Has it been helpful? Or it could go the other way, I suppose. But clearly, it's helping you in some way. Yeah, I think it has been.

I probably stopped. stopped crying during Q&A so much now. When we first took it to Telluride, and we got such an unbelievable initial response to the film, and it was just Ken and I then. Katrina had just had her baby, and Kieran and Judy haven't travelled over yet, and Jude wasn't arrived.

It was just the two of us, and we had a lot of hate between Ken and I. We both cried at every single Q&A we did. But often, for me, it was almost almost always related to dad and the pain of him not being able to see this film, but also the comfort of knowing that I was making it, I was making it with the people I was making it with and all the hope that he would have had and that he did have for that.

Yeah, I definitely think it's been cathartic and in a way helpful to be bringing this film of all films out and to be talking about it so much in the passing months after we've lost him. But, you know, as well as anyone, the grieving process is unpredictable. I've been through it. I lost my mom when I was young and I've been through it before, but I'm a different age and stage and a father myself, obviously now and it changes everything. Also because of the circumstances of COVID and I hadn't seen my dad since Christmas, 2019 because of restrictions. And we haven't been able to, you know,

We haven't had a funeral for my dad yet, you know, we're 10 months, exactly now. So it's difficult to sort of contextualize how I'm dealing with it or what it is, but I think it's probably only been a good thing that I'm able to talk about a movie that would be so close to my dad because of where he was from and who he was, but also have that movie, have the response to that movie. You know, if I was sitting doing some movie that, you know, in the passing months and a year after his death that I was having to front up and do press all the time for something that was getting destroyed and had no significant meaning to him, it would be a very different story. Sure. Well, let's talk about some of your lovely co-stars because you were gifted with an amazing ensemble here. You've mentioned them all already.

Anybody that knows me knows I positively adore Katrina Ball. She's the best. I'm surprised to hear when I was researching today that your paths never crossed. You didn't get that Outlander audition, man? You weren't in the top three there? No, I was, they typed in top three Scottish famous actors, I think, for that one.

And Sam's probably up there, you know, besides Sean Connery somewhere, who was too old at the time, the beginning of that. It would have been a choice. It would have been interesting. An 80-year-old, Sean Conn. I don't kill me.

I've yet to see. Islander, too. I've never seen it. So I feel, I feel bad. Katrina had never seen the fall until we were, until we were shooting. So we weren't, we're not big fans of each other's work.

But, you know, if the only thing, I obviously will see some of Katrina's work, but in a lovely way, all I know of Katrina, as an actor, is in Belfast, where she gives one of the most stunning performances I've seen. So it's,

for my money she's like the best actor in the world but yeah you know she was just what i say about katrina i mean she's a powerhouse you know um she is but she brings such a a lightness in her in her human interaction in the way she is naturally but then has this absolute staleness and grit yes she can just switch to you know and you've you can become fearful of her very quick. And that is a massive gain doing this for a living. You know, for her to have that in her armoury is incredible. I've said this before, but if I go to every job with Katrina Valve,

my career would be, I'd be really happy. And, you know, I feel like the work would always be good and would always have a good time, you know. But it's incredible. We do have a very similar background. You know, and we both are people from the same part of the world. the tiny part of the world, who went off and we're modeling in mostly in New York and for, you know, pretty much at the same time. There's maybe she was two years ahead of me probably.

We did meet at TIF. We met at TIF about three years ago. We both had different films there and we met, we were introduced very quickly. And I remember thinking, God, she's tall and I couldn't work with her based on her heart. Not that I'm short, but she's very tall. No, it's annoying. I was so wrong, you know, but. Well, it's big of you to look past that, yeah. Yeah, it was obviously when I heard it was going to be her, I was a bit of, a bit tall.

I'll let her go, she's good in acting. But yeah, it's crazy. I remember hearing that there was a model from Monaghan who was like had lots of similar friends to me in New York and stuff. And I sort of just didn't believe it. for whatever reason, we never cross path. And which of the three 50 Shades films is Judy Densh's favorite? Did she tell you how she ranks them?

Like, you liked the Freed because she just said she was happy it was over. I mean, by all accounts, I've only talked to Judy Densh, I think once in my illustrious career, and it was very briefly, but by all accounts, she's the best. She's like, just disarms you and it's just like comes to play.

Yeah, that's exactly right. Those two things are perfectly put, you know. And it's really lovely as an actor. I'm not a young actor anymore, but I'm younger than Judy to have someone like that, someone's so iconic to see the way she approaches it, which is to, you know, I've done all the work, but leave it behind and be totally relaxed on set.

we're all shitting ourselves to a point obviously anyway but like but trying to keep yourself as relaxed as much easier to act if you're if you're relaxed and um to see someone like judy being like that and be in the middle of a story when someone shouts turnover and to then fall in line beautifully between action and cut and then as soon as you hear cut go back to telling her story you know like it's like that is don't miss sweat A new movie inspired by the provocative real-life story of the visionary founder of online dating platform, Bumble. Played by Lily James, Swiped introduces recent college grad Whitney Wolfe

as she uses grit and ingenuity to break into the male-dominated tech industry to become the youngest female self-made billionaire. An official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival, the Hulu original film Swiped, is now streaming only on Disney Plus. Hey, Michael. Hey, Tom. news to share it, right? Yes, huge, monumental, earth-shaking. Heartbeat sound effect, big. Mait is back. That's right. After a brief snack nap, we're coming back, we're picking

snacks, we're eating snacks, like the snackologist we were born to be. Mates is back! Mike and Tom, eat snacks. Wherever you get your podcast. Unless you get them from a snack machine, in which case, call us. That is 90, 99% of actors I work with her like that, but sometimes you'll see someone who has quite a more of a methodical approach, maybe, and to the point where you're going, should I be banging my head against a wall like that, making those noises, I might, sorry, will that help me? And then you see someone not doing that who's of that caliber and you think, no, it's okay, what works for these, seems to work, it's working for her, and we're all good. Now, not to say that every person's life and childhood is worthy of a film, but I'm curious, if you look back at your own childhood, what genre of film is the Jamie Dornan adolescent story? Is it comedy? Is it horror? Is it an erotic thriller? What are we looking at? I think it's probably some kind of family comedy. It's probably my dad was a huge Steve Martin fan.

And the only time we went to cinema trips as a family was to see exclusively to see Steve Martin movies. So in my head, it's like a sort of family drama, Steve Martin type vibe, you know, like a parenthood type thing where I actually remember watching parenthood a lot as a kid

and going to see it in cinema and one of the kids I think I'm right saying he was asthmatic and I was asthmatic and I still am asthmatic and I remember sort of really identifying with him

and there's another kid who was really he used to like put a bucket over his head and bashed against the wall and stuff I think I had a bit of that sort of hyper in it I was very hyper as a kid, but well behaved, I think, but like I had a lot of energy. Still, I have a lot of energy and I'm not good with being still.

So I think it was probably, yeah, I'm gonna say like a Steve Martin family comedy type vibe. Well, it's good to know that you had good taste running in your blood from the start, and that gives us a good segue into, I do wanna talk a little bit about formative films for us. And this wasn't necessarily one you saw as an adolescent, but it is a comedy.

And when I ask you for a comfort movie, I don't know what's in the air, by the way, Jamie, but we are on an Adam McKay kick. I just spoke. Who was the actor that just chose the most recent one? Not, oh, my God, I'm totally blanking. Not Vice. Oh, it was the big short.

Someone chose the big short. It'll come to me. But anyway, you chose a different Adam McKay film, more traditional comedic variety of Anna McKay. Tell us what you chose and why. I chose Ankerman. Because I think if you really, like tallied it up it's probably the film I've seen most in my life um which is saying

something because it was probably you know I was in my 20s when when it was made um it was just at a particular time in London when I haven't just moved to London but you know I've been in London a while and that had come out and I had big impact on me and I still think it's kind of perfect but there was a particular time I'm honestly I put it on every day. I mean, it really did and it's like it became like a language and you could communicate through quotes from Micerman. Remember there's a real particularly real like sweet spot of that where you'd meet people and different wherever you were in the world and something would happen and someone would say, hey, lady in the red hat or something or like milk was a bad choice or

you know just some unbelievable line from that movie and then you're in. It's something. It's like it was like a conversation starter and there's so much collective love for that film and you know and then everyone had an opinion on the sort of the sort of lost movie that they

made up out of outtakes and stuff that I had like hands on once and then of should there be an increment too and all of that once there was that did we think that they should have made that all of that you know stuff around that movie um

so for me I would still if it's a bit of a go-to for me if I just don't know what I want to watch and not in the mood to tackle anything you and not in the mood to tackle anything heavy I will take it on you're also getting those guys in their absolute pump not that they're not still doing brilliant work in fact we just finished the shrink next door which has obviously yeah Paul Rodd in it who are both an anchor man but there's it feels like Anagramal just came at a time when they were just, oh, just every beat they did was hilarious, you know. Well, it is, it is, I think it's interesting because when you look back, I think it was the big, it was a big shift for Rudd, certainly.

That started like a run of comedy for him, but for Farrell, and I, you'll find no bigger fan of Will Ferrell. He just makes me laugh. He's just like the funniest human on the planet. And he, his specialty, I would argue, is the confident idiot. and there's no greater just like bombastic idiot than Ron Burgundy. It is just Apex Will Ferrell. Totally, totally. It was Apex Will Ferrell.

And also, Christina Applegate, oh, my God. Like, for me, her performance is just like, well, I would say that the casting in general in that film is so perfect. But she has so many moments with Will Ferrell, as we've said before, in this absolute pump where my takeaway is what she's doing often. And she's reacting to some of that ridiculousness that he's doing is just priceless. And I will,

I love her for that. And, you know, I just think the collective of those actors of the news team, you know, like we didn't know that much about Steve Carell then. No, sure.

And brick. Oh my God. Brick's an all time. Rick. Like, like, genius the way he formed that character you know totally i mean how many quotes of brick do we have you know is there one scene it's hard to pick because there are dozens in there is there one scene

that sticks out for you it's very hard to like pass the you know uh 60 percent of time works every time scene with the with the cologne and um more other than that um i think that's a you know probably my favorite moment i love um the fight, the initial fight from Vince Bond and the, you know, take your mother out for a nice seafood dinner. Just, you can tell those guys are just riffing and I've seen stuff where,

behind the scene stuff where Adam McKay is literally shouting out lines to them and they're just, you know, and it's amazing to see that and just aid them not to crack up when they hear those lines and still deliver them the way they do. I experienced that a bit when we did, Barman Starr, sure,

Google Vista Del Mar, which Will Ferrell produced, Adam McKay produced. And Josh Greenbaum, our director, Nat, who's an absolute legend. We did a bit of that. We did a lot of improv in that movies, as you could probably tell.

And we did scenes like that where Josh was just shutting our stuff. Half the battle was just like... Taking it in for a second and then, like, refocusing. Literally, like, don't make guys with Kristen and Marni. just don't don't fucking do not cast it right now they just try to take it on and then breathe and then

get that line out if you can there was a lot of that so i'm so lucky i feel that i've got to experience a sense of what that is you know and it's amazing feeling i got a chance finally to catch up with Kristen after a long while and profess my love for that film you know how obsessed i am with it um so that must i mean now knowing how much you revere that kind of comedy and that an anchorman in particular um must feel all the more satisfying that you're in one of those movies now you you get that sense already that this has become an instant cult classic yeah i'm just you know try not to like text christin and annie every day to tell them to write a sequel um that's your mind's me need to text them to tell them to write um but uh um yeah i we did a q and a

Virtually, of course, at some point when Barb and Star came out, and Will, Will, calling Will, literally haven't met the guy, but Will, Farrell, compared it. And I really had a moment of going, like, this is nuts. Like, this is nuts. Also, it's my first comedy to be surrounded by such esteemed company and such titans and geniuses of comedy. And I remember thinking that a tactic of mine with that interview should be not to speak. Don't screw it up for you in the future. Do not speak.

Blame a dodgy Wi-Fi connection or something. Or just go, guys, I'm sorry, I can't hear you, but I'll just, you guys are going. But I, you know, because I just thought, oh my God, like, it's one thing, you know, I had time with Kristen and Annie to build a relationship with them where they let me in and they let me in really quickly thankfully and they found me funny

and I find them obviously hilarious but suddenly Will Ferrell was in this thing and I was like oh shit right he's not gonna I'm not gonna try to make him laugh you know but yeah what a treat and to experience that at that level of those people and I really too truly hope

we get to make more of those movies are so fun I really hope so as well. Just for the record, my brain freeze, I want to account for. It was John Sina of all people that shows the big short as his comfort movie. Oh, really? Kind of fascinating, right? Yeah.

So I'm curious. Okay, so going back career-wise, we're not going to detail every facet of the illustrious modeling career, but I'm curious, once you segue out of modeling into acting, and I think Marie Antoinette was the debut, correct? Yeah. So a hell of a debut, obviously, was Sophia Coppola. I'm just curious, like, do you remember in those early years, like, were there good aspects of modeling, of technique, of knowing your own body, et cetera, that you could apply to acting? Or was there more baggage you had to kind of like unlearn? I think it's not like I, well, listen, I'll say this, it's not like I never acted. I did loads of drama at school. I used to do youth theater back in Belfast. You know, so it had been something that I had within me anyway and experience of. I do think there's something really. really useful about being in front of any sort of camera.

Particularly I feel, you know, for film, television acting, a lot of it is a bit of a dance with the camera sometimes and a movement. And it's not a, it's not a, oh, if I move here to like, this is my good side, I'm going to look better. But like it's a, it's almost the other way. It's almost like a, a comfortableness that you get from being from the camera. where it's not weird particularly close-up stuff are usually often when you're doing photos shoots and the cameras right in your face and it's actually just being comfortable with

that and not like you know seizing up and you know and that that is weird technique like stuff like that is important because sometimes acting is a funny game and you can turn up on set um i've seen this where um you know directors have loved like an audition tape or whatever it is and then for someone who's like a day player and they're coming in doing a day and then on set there's something happens to them and they freak out and they're suddenly just really nervous and um or seemingly unprepared even though you know it's usually like a nerve thing so actually that understanding of a camera and being okay with something that is capturing you uh i think it's a is a help but then on the other side you have the whole stigma attached to this guy got this photograph taken for a living

so you can't act, you know, which you're battling, you know, battling, particularly in those early years. But not so much, I feel like I battled more with that in the UK. And I think in the States, and the first time we came to LA, they're cooler, but it's more, it's more of a, it's more of an accepted pathway in in UK where it's all the point.

How much time you spent on the boards, et cetera, and Rada. Yeah, yeah. So I'm curious, you know, as people probably know by now, I'm most fascinated by this, by the early friend groups and the groups that like end up succeeding. It seems like you were hanging out with like the every superhero that's now working. It's kind of insane. I actually just did the podcast yesterday with Andrew Garfield for one. And I know you put your buddies with Redmayne and Pattinson. I'm just curious, like, in that group, I give me a sense of the dynamics. I'm just curious. Like, was there one that was like, okay, this is, this is the one, the guy in, this guy in the group is going to be the, the big star. Like, was there an internal kind of like acknowledgement of who is going to go where? Yeah, that was Garfield. Yeah, that was Garfield. We were always, I remember when I, I never forget that I, I met Andrew.

I hadn't seen any of his work at that when we were very young. And I'm a year older than Garf, but it was, I think it was probably, I met Eddie, 2005, and I met Garf, I think, later that year, maybe 2006. And I hadn't seen, had Boy A came out. I'm not sure if it came out yet, but maybe it had, and I sort of missed it or whatever. But I remember that night, I was with Eddie and a guy called Tom Sturridge, who's a good friend of ours and a few other guys and girls, and Garf was going to come with me this night. And he was, they were talking about him in this way of, you know,

Martin Brando was about to, young Martin Brando is about to join us, graces with his presence. That was kind of the way it was a bit like, this guy's such an actor and we're not really. But, you know, so I remember he came with this sort of tag of like, this guy's unbelievable and he's going to really, you know, make stuff happen. And, you know, instantly just a total goof. accessible slightly ridiculous person and I know but like an unbelievable

talent I mean Garf and I have our own language I mean we genuinely talk to each other in a that if you're with us and it's probably quite painful to be around I think James Gordon realised that when we had us both on the show can we we just bring out all our silliness in each other and I love it but I think you He just seemed like the sure bet that was just going to make stuff happen and go on and do good things. And, like, you know, it took a while for all of us to find sort of the right, everyone has your own path in this and, you know, find the right thing that would break you or whatever it is. And but in a weird way, it kind of did, it has at this point worked out for all of us.

And I know that it, that shouldn't have been the case in a way, you know, Like, we shouldn't have all, you know, we've all been in big franchises and... Goodbye, summer movies, hello fall. I'm Anthony Devaney. And I'm his twin brother, James. We host Raiders of the Lost Podcast, the Ultimate Movie Podcast, and we are ecstatic to break down late summer and early fall releases. We have Leonardo DiCaprio leading a revolution in one battle after another,

Timothy Chalamee playing power ping pong in Marty Supreme. Let's not forget Emma Stone and Jorgos Lanthamos' beginning. Gonia, Dwayne Johnson, he's coming for that Oscar in The Smashing Machine, Spike Lee and Denzel teaming up again, plus Daniel DeLewis's return from retirement. There will be plenty of blockbusters to chat about two. Tron Aries looks exceptional, plus Mortal Kombat 2, and Edgar writes the running man starring Glenn Powell. Search for Raiders of the Lost podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. I'm Amy Nicholson, the film critic for the LA Times. And I'm Paul Shear, an actor, writer, and director.

you might know me from The League, Veep, or my non-eligible for Academy Award role in Twisters. We come together to host Unspooled, a podcast where we talk about good movies, critical hits. Fan favorites, must-season, and Casey Mistoms. We're talking Parasite the Home Alone. From Greece to the Dark Night. So if you love movies like we do, come along on our cinematic adventure. Listen to Unspooled wherever you get your podcast. And don't forget to hit the follow button.

You know, it's kind of mad now when I think back to like being in L.A. 2008 and we sincerely weren't making progress. It's really why particularly it wasn't. But we were there for a few months together where nothing was happening. Right. Nothing. You know, so, and there was no, wasn't the writer's strike. There wasn't a pandemic.

It's just, we're not, it's a hard pass on Garfield. Yeah, totally. Well, it was mad. But, you know. Okay, it's official. We are very much in the final sprint to election day. And face it, between debates, polling releases, even court appearances. It can feel exhausting, even impossible to keep up with.

I'm Brad Milky. I'm the host of Start Here, the Daily Podcast from ABC News. And every morning, my team and I get you caught up on the day's news in a quick, straightforward way that's easy to understand with just enough context so you can listen, get it, and go on with your day. So, kickstart your morning. Start Smart with Start Here and ABC News, because staying informed shouldn't feel overwhelming. So, you know, I joked about this. You've obviously, you have, you've had your billion-dollar franchise, but you haven't had

your superhero role, which is kind of unusual in this day and age for someone that, of your ilk that would seemingly have that. Is there one that, like, you desperately wanted? Do you, is there one audition that jumps out at you for, you must have done a dozen superhero auditions, I got to think. I sort of haven't, you know, I think almost, uh, I think the only one I've actually auditioned for was Superman. Um, that was way back when, this when Henry Cavill got cast.

Um, that's probably 12 years ago or something, Mitt more. Are you tell me, I don't know. Did you get the suit on? Did you feel like you were actually in the running? No, but I wore my own suit there. Was that a mistake? You were your under, your little. That might have been a bad call, man.

Yeah, they were Superman pajamas. They weren't actually like an actual suit. No, I remember early audition for that. I got nowhere near putting the suit on. I actually don't think I've been, you know, I've had meetings with heads of studios that do those things and we talked about it, but I never got deep into any audition process for any of them back in the day. And I feel like now, the last few ones, I wouldn't say there was a big audition process for, you know, too many of, you know,

a, I'm too old now for Spider-Man. I remember I did a screen test for unchartered years ago. Oh, sure. years ago when it was it they were going to make it with different director and everything and then and I went well and there's a point where like that maybe I was doing it or whatever and then and then it all went quiet went away and the director fell off and blah and blah and then when I heard they were going to make it again I was like oh great and oh no you're far too old. Tom Holland wait you could be right yeah

Tom Holland's half your age is doing it a legitimate movie star and I was like all right okay well listen you know that ship's ill um but uh i don't i wouldn't pin like one that i yeah prepare to do if something came along i'm i'm interested in in that world but i'm also really happy where i am and you know um they're probably not looking at you know uh the sort of performance of belfast and the quietness of that sort of film and thinking let's shove a cape on that guy and throw them up into a harness. But who knows? In a different respect.

And I'm always fascinated by the reaction I get from different actors when I bring up the name Bond. Some of them clam up. I'm like, I'm not going to say a fucking word to you. I don't want to just jeopardize any chance. And some are like, yeah, that would be amazing. Where do you fall?

Like, you must have daydreamed. You've been on those lists, whether it's real or not. It must be just flattering beyond words to even be on a list for like the ultimate it's cool hero. Yeah, I think it's flattering to be on a list, sure. But we're all on a list, you know, we're all on the list if you're a certain age, a certain type, whatever you're kind of on there. There's been times I've been close to the top of that list and there's times I've been

close to the, what might be the bottom of the endless list. You know, that really does work with. has a movie that people are talking about or TV show that people are talking about your hair up that list or then you get people just on it all the time like I know Tom Hardy's forever on it Killian is forever on it you know um yeah it's it's cool I like it you know it's um it's something that I I don't give any thought to yeah be honest um and you know if if it came along Yeah, I mean, it would be certainly something to think about, but I don't think about it until, I wouldn't think about it until it's a vague reality.

Right. I'm curious. Okay, so like, you're an intelligent man, Mr. Dornan. When, when 50 Shades, when your franchise, your potential ginormous franchise, which indeed became a ginormous billion-dollar franchise came around, you knew the baggage that was going to be there for good or for bad. You knew there was a built-in audience. and it was probably going to do huge, was also going to probably, and indeed was savaged by a lot of critics. Was there a tremendous amount of ambivalence? Like, were people around you, were your friends and family and agents all like, you've got to do this if the opportunity comes? Or was it a big kind of debate within your circle? It wasn't an instant yes, by any means. For all of the reasons you've just said, it needed to be talked through. I sought counsel from friends, family, a lot of actors.

What did Garfield say? Let's go down the list. What did Redmates? He was too busy just swinging around New York, I think, at that time with his little web. But, you know, it's nice to have people in your life who will have an opinion and, you know, one that, you know, one that, that I think is expert almost. You know, I sort of nearly did it and then didn't get it.

Right. And I said this before that when I didn't get it, I felt a bit of relief because I was like, Jesus, that guy, per guy, he's gonna get wrecked here. You know, and then he maybe felt the same. and then suddenly there was and but with way less time to make a decision yeah i got cast five weeks before we started shooting and my wife was 34 weeks pregnant and we had a lot of massive decisions to make very quickly it was a crazy time now when i when i think about it but yeah you're right

look i knew you know i knew because i thought about it before and i was nearly got at the first time which already got it I knew that it came with all that baggage as you say and that the reality was it's going to make a ton of money and fans were going to love it and the critics were going to despise it because that's exactly what happened with the books and we that's what we were making we weren't going well that's a bit of a template but we're going to do this whole different thing and change a lot of stuff about but we were staying very truthful to the books so we knew what that was going to be but I think movies that are made for the fans that the fans love

can only be seen as a success really you know and I'm really grateful that both Dakota and I have you know despite some pretty rough stuff that but us probably particularly me with the wavemouncer come out and we're still making work that people really like and I've had some of those sort of said critics do a bit of a 180 you know yeah particularly in the last few weeks because i've had the show in the UK that's come out and been a massive success called the tourist that will come to the states pretty soon and uh i had a nice moment where you were talking about like friends and family saying stuff and the people say it's a mistake when i got cast in 50 shades um the fall had come out

got reception being nominated for bafta all this great stuff would happen and then they the announced out of 50s. There was a journalist in The Guardian was a big paper in the UK for Lucy Mangan who wrote a whole article about what a terrible career choice had made. This before it even shot the thing.

I'm there thinking, Jesus, right? Okay, so that's the general vibe, you know? Anyway, Lucy Mangan wrote a piece last week about how it's all sort of, not that she got it wrong, whatever, but like, you know, because of Belfast and the tourist.

She liked them both and maybe, you know, maybe it wasn't all the stupidest move in the world and blah, blah, which I did have a little, like, so a nice little moment reading that article, I have to say. Because as much as you think you don't care, you kind of do, you know, you kind of do you care. Well, and you feel it. I'm sure you feel it, whether you're actively seeking out the reviews or not, you feel the general. No, I went through a phase of really actively seeking them out. And actually, I once found this thing where someone had put, like, all the worst things set up out

me from the first 50 Shades movie into like a neat little like Instagram post. How convenient? What am I doing? Like what? And I would look at it all the time. And, uh, you know, I agreed with a lot of it. That's a sad thing. Um, it occurs to me. I'm sitting here and I've got my, um, I think I told you this last time you were on the show when you were on Stir Crazy. I have this is the, this is the Dakota Johnson, um, be in the butt, a question mug. in her honor did you i think you told me you're going to send me one did you know i'll get you one you've earned it you've earned it you've earned it no i think big sellers we haven't sold them to this this is a this is a hot commodity just for friends and family i'll get you one oh no but i'm so

happy for both of you guys i think i feel like you both obviously like you had the right attitude that self-deprecating humor probably got you through a lot of it and i'm so happy for for both of you um you talk you talk when you saw an interview you did with uh your buddy eddie redmayne and I think about that a year ago, and you talked about how it's, like, dangerous to have a plan, right, as an actor. I mean, that being said, I look at the last few years

as you started to do stuff after the 50 Shades movies, and it does feel like there's some kind of plan in place, whether it's, you know, just associating with, like, great actors, like Killian, with Dinklage, doing smaller, cool work like a private war. Like, I mean, what was in your head, like, that coming off of that was there a sense of like what I need to kind of show people I can do outside of something like that? Yeah, I think you're right. Look, I think it's like, it's still really

hard to plan. It's almost like it's hard to plan it in a like, particularly having three kids having to be like, right, I love this job, but it's six months and it's in, right, in Buktu. You know, I'm going like, Jesus, it's so hard to plan ahead. And so it's a sense of that. And actually, planning the actual work is easier when you have a choice i've got to say and i've been lucky now for eight years or whatever i've had a bit of a choice of um the work i do and yeah of course there's a bit it's often just like what am i drawn to and maybe it is there's a sort of natural sense of like well i've just done something like this and i feel like i haven't really shown this side of myself but i love this script so it's not just i'm not doing just to show that side of myself i really

want to do it and by having that choice i've been able to make those decisions do you know what I mean? Yep. And yeah, there's probably a bit of rebuilding, again, based on what I'm talking about. Like Lucy Mangon's already going a bit of like trying to prove to people that I'm more than they think I am, if that's all they've seen, those films and stuff. And I've been working away at that. And, you know, I think I've made good strides in that in the last, you know, six months

particularly. It seems like that's the constant for most any actor and certain, in your case, I mean, this is the recurring theme. You talk about the early, you know, as you segued from modeling into acting. I mean, it's just a huge old story. It's just like they remember the last role or two, and you just got to keep showing them. There's more to me than that. Absolutely.

And there's a challenge in that that I really love. And I have always loved a challenge, and I will always seek out a challenge. So, you know, I'm up for it. You know, I'm totally up for it. And, you know, it's just a thing, you know, there's just, Yes, you have a different reason for every job you do. And, you know, I feel like the more you're working, the more consistently your work is received well.

A plan is slightly more easier to form, but it's still essentially overall hard to have a firm plan of what's going to happen. I'll end with this. I ask the followers of Happy Second Fused for some questions. I have one here from Kimberly Hoover, who wants to know if you hadn't become an action, what career you would have pursued.

Is there one that jumps out? I would have tried to do something in sport. I've always loved sport. It's very, have been very sporty. I think about sport. I'm thinking about sport right now. I've been thinking about sport for the entire podcast. Wow.

Wow, rude. Biscuits in sport. Oh, there he goes. He's gone. I see his brain literally floating away. But yeah, I think a lot, like I was one of those kids to watch Jerry McGuire and thought, yeah, I'm going to do that. But so it would have been maybe something in sports, but I think the reality is it's quite,

it's sort of harder to get into than people think sport. Not as hard as acting to get into, but like I probably would have become like an estate agent or something or a realtor, as you say, because where I came from, you could drop out of university or not go to university at all and still do that. to an extent and then work your way up without a degree or whatever. And I felt that probably the reality of where I was headed. I mean, it's good. I could have been going around, you know, I love it when, you know, you've been showing a house

and they bring you into the bathroom and say, and this is the bathroom. Yeah, I've been in a bathroom before. Yeah, exactly. And if you, yeah, this is, yeah, they're cupboards, yeah, yeah, you know. I'm not saying that's all there is to that job, but there's a lot of it is that. and I've always always made me laugh. Wow, you've just been canceled by the real estate industry. You've lost that segment of your,

I hope there's not a big academy demo that also sells real estate because you just fuck yourself, my friend. I'm worried there is. Congratulations on all your success, buddy. You are now a happy, I confused veteran at long last, long overdue. No, truly, I mean, in all earnestness, you know I love your work and you're a good one, man. And congratulations on Barb and Star yet again,

because I'll never stop thanking you congratulating you on that. and Belfast, if you guys have not checked it out yet, what are you doing with your lives? This is pure light and joy in a dark universe. You need this in your lives, guys. Buddy, thanks for your time. Thanks, Josh. Cheers, buddy. I appreciate it. And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused.

Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressure to do this by Josh. American history is full of infamous tales that continue to captivate audiences, decades or even hundreds of years after they happened. On the infamous America podcast, you'll hear the true stories of the Salem Witch Trials and the escape attempts from Alcatraz, of bank robbers like John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd,

of killers like Lizzie Borden and Charles Starkweather, of mysteries like the Black Dahlia and D.B. Cooper, and of events that inspired movies like Goodfellas, killers of a flower moon, Zodiac, Eight Men Out, and many more. I'm Chris Wimmer. Join me as we criss-crossed the country from the Miami Drug Wars and Dixie Mafia in the South,

to mobsters in Chicago and New York, to arsonists, kidnappers, and killers in California, to unsolved mysteries in the heartland and in remote corners of Alaska. Every episode features narrative writing and cinematic music, and there are hundreds of episodes available to binge. Find Infamous America wherever you get your podcasts.