Actor Jamie Dornan couldn’t be more pleased by the rise of action films led by women.
The Co Down star says growing up he loved watching fast-paced thrillers starring the likes of Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson.
Now, as the dad of three young daughters, Jamie Dornan says he wants to see movies that will inspire his girls.
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He hopes that working alongside former Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot in new spy movie Heart of Stone will make his family proud.
Jamie, 41, said: “Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I loved things like Die Hard with Bruce Willis or Mad Max and Lethal Weapon with Mel Gibson.
“And then there was James Bond, of course, in his various different incarnations. There were always male action actors to look up to, and hopefully now we are going to see a lot more female action heroes.
“I have three daughters and I want them to be able to see and look up to really strong, powerful, intelligent, fierce women on screen. It’s a cool thing. I had plenty of men to look up to in that realm when I was a kid.
“Hopefully as the years go on, there will be more and more women for them to look up to.”
Holywood man Dornan shot to international fame playing the role of Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades franchise. Since then he has gained an ever growing army of fans for his roles in everything from crime drama series The Fall to Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast and Australian outback thriller The Tourist.
His latest movie, which is released on Netflix next month, sees him play an MI6 agent alongside Gadot’s lead character Rachel Stone. Casting Dornan as a spy is no doubt likely to pour further fuel on the rumours he may be set to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond. Dornan is keeping his cards close to his chest.
He said: “I am lucky to have had a variety of stuff come my way.“ I’ve been blessed to have the kind of choice many actors do not have. There will always be people who will only see me as one character but that’s on them.
“Being involved with a franchise(Fifty Shades) that makes so much money gave me freedom of choice. It opened up opportunities. I’m just trying to use that choice wisely in hopefully doing something different every time and not just doing the same kind of thing. I feel like I have so much more to offer. I feel like I am only just getting started.”
Dornan says he would describe Heart of Stone as a “crime thriller with huge scale and ambition”. It was filmed in countries including Italy, London, Iceland and Portugal.
He said: “Getting to travel the world making this film was amazing. The action scenes were also a lot of fun. It’s the kind of film that takes the audience on a ride from the very start
“The first 15 minutes alone are something else so you better be ready. It’s got a great story, great characters, amazing full-on action scenes and so much excitement. It’s a really fun ride and I can’t wait for people to see it.
“I play a character called Parker. I don’t want to say too much other than he is someone who is very determined and driven in everything he does. He’s basically very focused on whatever it is he wants to achieve and he will stop at nothing to get there. I admire that.”
Dornan also greatly admires his co-stars in the film including British actress Alia Bhatt. He said: “Any time working with Gal Gadot and Alia Bhatt was a highlight.”
When Dornan’s young family may be of an age to watch their dad’s latest movie is up for debate. For now he admits their favourite shows are more likely to involve nursery rhymes or anything featuring Wednesday star Jenna Ortega.
But he says he and wife Amelia, an actress, singer and songwriter, happily juggle their family life with work commitments.
He said: “You never want to apologise for working. You want your kids to see that work is important and that we have this life because of the work that I do and my wife does.
“You stretch yourself out and you are there as much as you can. You have got to remember, when we are off, we are off and I am doing every school run.”
Dornan loves the variety of work he has taken on over the years, and says he chooses roles he knows he will enjoy and that will challenge him.
He said: “It’s simply about what resonates with me and what I am drawn to at that specific time. It’s not about the genre or whether it’s film or television, it’s about the script. If it’s good I will do it.“
“Heart of Stone is very different to anything I have done before I did Barb And Star which was very different to Belfast. That is exciting to me. I want to keep mixing it up and working with cool people that will challenge me.
"I have written something as well so I’ll be making that and, again, it will be a million miles away from anything else I have done. I’m just constantly trying to mix it up and challenge myself.
“I would love to do more comedy. At one point, I thought I would do much more of it but then I did The Fall and people weren’t looking to me for laughs.
“Barb And Star was an unbelievable experience. I love working with Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, who are both absolute geniuses. There is some comedy in The Tourist but Barb and Star was my first real foray in comedy. I would like to do more.”
Heart of Stone is on Netflix from August 11
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