New Interview of Jamie with National Post

Jamie Dornan knows how to define the dark side as illustrated by his Fifty Shades of Grey sex fiend in film and his twisted serial killer on the series The Fall. Now he’s giving a real life reluctant war hero a try with his portrayal of Czech freedom fighter Jan Kubis in the WWII film Anthropoid.

Co-written and directed by Sean Ellis after he developed the project for nearly 15 years, the movie recounts Operation Anthropoid. It’s the code name for the 1941 mission of ex-patriots Kubis and Josef Gabchik (Cillian Murphy), who return to Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Their assignment is to assassinate high-ranking SS commander Reinhard Heydrich.

At a Manhattan hotel, Dornan, 34, discusses his work on Anthropoid and his career. Here are five key things he had to say.

1. Ellis’ undeniable obsession with the Anthropoid story becomes a Dornan inspiration

“You should always have a certain amount of obsession or at least be bold about what you want to accomplish,” says Dornan. “So I couldn’t fail to be hugely engrossed in the characters and the story, because Sean’s attention to detail went far beyond what he needed to do.”

2. The Dornan way of emoting

The actor says the screenplay indicated decisively that Jan is not the soldier or the killer type, “so I had a clear way into how to play him.”

“Jan was like a little brother to Josef and Jamie understood that almost immediately,” says Ellis.

3. The Prague factor informed them

The film was shot in the Czech city with a mostly Czech crew and a few Czech actors in supporting roles. While filmmaker Ellis used some digital enhancements to recall Prague of the 1940s, he also shot in and around buildings that existed during the Nazi-occupation.

“It was massive visiting some of the key structures from Operation Anthropoid,” says Dornan. “In some places you could see the bullet holes in the walls from back then.”

4. The bonding experience was vital

Murphy and Dornan knew of each other but had never worked together before. They also understood their chemistry would be the major driving force in the film. Luckily, for all concerned, they got along on and off camera.

“I would really enjoy doing more with Cillian, but next time I think I would need him to be more in the background,” jokes Dornan.

5. The message continues to be more important than the medium

Dornan just wrapped the marathon of filming back-to-back sequels Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. He’s also committed to do at least one more season of The Fall.

“I love doing TV,” Dornan says. “I would never be picky about what the medium is. If it’s a compelling character and story I will do it on TV or film. I think these days it’s important to do both and I feel privileged to do both.”

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