Jamie Dornan Slams Casting Critics: ‘Prejudgment Is Such a F*cking Disease’
“Belfast” star Jamie Dornan clapped back at casting criticisms over actors taking on iconic roles in well-known franchises.
Dornan, who famously brought Christian Grey to life onscreen in the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy, told Esquire that even A-listers like Robert Pattinson and Daniel Craig aren’t immune to casting backlash.
“Prejudgment is such a fucking disease,” Dornan said. “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 continued, “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.”
Plus, “all the naysayers love what Rob has done with Batman,” Dornan added of his former roommate.
Dornan is currently rumored to be on the shortlist for taking over the James Bond franchise, with “Bridgerton” alum Regé-Jean Page, Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, and more reportedly in the running.
“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.”
Following Craig exiting the franchise in “No Time to Die,” it’s unclear what the next steps for Bond may be — especially in the wake of Amazon purchasing Bond’s home studio MGM for $8.5 billion.
Prime Video also launched an “Amazing Race”-style reality competition series titled “007’s Road to a Million” with contestants traveling around the world to different Bond locations to test their spy skills. The globe-spanning reality series may even include a visit to the famed MI-6 agent’s new tombstone in the Faroe Islands, erected in honor of Craig’s final installment as the British spy in “No Time to Die.”