New Video Interview of Jamie and Cillian Murphy with NWCN

A significant but lesser known story from World War II is the basis for the intense new drama Anthropoid, starring Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan.

The movie is based on a daring plan to drop paratrooper assassins into Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The project was a ten-year labor of love for director Sean Ellis.

“The more I tried to find out about it, the more stuff I uncovered,” he said. “It became like this sprawling epic part of history that not many people know.”

Ellis took extra steps toward creating real-life accuracy by filming in many of the actual locations.

“Seeing where these men died, it affects you profoundly,” Murphy said.

The film is a departure for Dornan, who's best known for starring in 50 Shades of Grey as the title character, Christian Grey.

“In a weird way, I wouldn't be anxious at all about being typecast in those kind of roles because there's not many movies about that kind of subject matter, or roles that are similar to him,” Dornan said.

He also put rumors to rest about alleged star sightings, when film crews were in Seattle this past spring.

“We still shot it all in Vancouver but they did a lot of the aerial-like helicopter stuff in Seattle, so the crew went up before we started filming,” he said. “I actually have to say I have yet to be to Seattle.”

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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.

Two New BTS Pictures from 'Anthropoid'

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New TV Spot from 'Anthropoid' + History Channel's Special Segment

TV Spot - "Review: 15"

History Channel Vingette

First TV Spot from 'The 9th Life of Louis Drax'

"Mystery"

New Interview of Jamie, Cillian Murphy and Sean Ellis with IndieWire

There are no happy endings in Sean Ellis’ World War II drama “Anthropoid.” But should a new plan to honor the heroes portrayed within the new war drama pan out, the true story’s gruesome history might be forever altered in an unexpectedly positive way.

Ellis’ latest film follows the true story of Czech resistance fighters Josef Gabčík (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubiš (Jamie Dornan), who undertook the nearly impossible mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich in Prague in 1942. The plan ultimately resulted in the deaths of Kubiš, Gabčík and five other Czech fighters – and while Heydrich didn’t die immediately as planned, he did succumb to his injuries soon after, altering the course of the war forever – and while the soldiers have long been national heroes, over seven decades have passed without a proper burial for their bodies.

Thanks to renewed interest in the unbelievable story of Operation Anthropoid, that could be changing soon.

“Because of this discussion that’s going on, the government have acted on information that they know where the bodies are,” Ellis recently told IndieWire, referencing a recent story by the BBC. “Now they’re going to excavate this grave, and they think that Kubiš and Gabčík are there. Their heads aren’t there, because they were decapitated, but the seven guys, they think, are in this grave.”

A Proper Ending

Per Ellis, should DNA testing prove that the bodies of the seven fighters – and, in particular, Kubiš and Gabčík – are in a mass grave in the Dablice cemetery (located just outside Prague), the Czech government intends to treat them with the utmost of respect.

“They are going to give them a proper burial, with memorials and all the rest of it, because they are the Czech heroes,” the filmmaker said.

New Interview of Jamie and Cillian Murphy with AOL Build

It's one of those stories that's so mind-blowing, you don't expect it to actually be true. But it is.

We're talking about "Anthropoid," the film directed by Sean Ellis and starring Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy as two Czech soldiers who plot to assassinate Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich, one of the highest-ranking German Nazi officials as well as one of the main architects of the Holocaust. And even when their plan implodes, they still succeed -- Heydrich died in Prague in 1942.

The story is powerful. But it goes beyond that.

"What did we take away from the movie? Just friendship, I would say. It's genuine. You don't always get that," says Dornan.

Of course, it's not exactly reciprocated, he jokes. "I've tried Cillian a million times this week and he doesn't answer. He doesn't get back to me. I heard that's the kind of guy he is. And it's true," says Dornan.

But in reality, "We're all genuinely proud of the movie. I'm very proud of Cillian and Sean and a tiny bit proud of myself."

Murphy has starred in such massive productions as "Inception" and "The Dark Knight" for Christopher Nolan, and is currently shooting the equally big-ticket World War II drama "Dunkirk" for the acclaimed director. But "Anthropoid" holds a very special place in his heart.

"Working in film, you go from job to job. You get very intensely involved with people. Sometimes you actually get a genuine friendship out of it. It's very rare," says Murphy.

Even his son, 9, was infatuated with Dornan.

"We do this thing with my kids sometimes: 'So if you're stuck on a desert island, who would you have with you?' My little boy was like, 'Who's the guy you did 'Anthropoid' with, Jamie? I'd take him. He's funny. And the guy from 'Fast & Furious.' Vin Diesel. He can help. You're just there for the comedy," says Murphy to Dornan, who looks faux-outraged.

"I can fight off pirates and (expletive!)" he exclaims.

Case closed.

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New Interview of Jamie and Cillian Murphy with WhoSay

Throughout history, there have been many war heroes heralded around the world, with statues and big budget movies dedicated to their harrowing work. However, many other heroic figures end up as side-notes in college textbooks—but their actions lead to some of the biggest moments in human history.

The latest WWII indie thriller Anthropoid tells the story of two of these men, who although only known within a niche group, forever transformed the trajectory of one of the most influential wars of human history. In the film, a pair of World War II Czech rebels, Jan Kubiš and Josef Gabčík, face grave danger in order to assassinate one of the highest ranking Nazi officials, SS officer Reinhard Heydrich. Although they were just two individuals, their actions changed the course of the war.

And who better to play these brave men than arguably two of the biggest names in Hollywood today, Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy?

In order to gain more insight into how these two A-list actors transformed into two little recognized war heroes, we talked to both Dornan and Murphy about creating Anthropoid together—and the likelihood of a comedy starring the two of them in the future. Check out our interview with the duo below.

WhoSay: Were you at all familiar with this story beforehand?

Jamie Dornan: I wasn’t familiar with this part of the WWII, and was amazed by how it changed the course of WWII. Obviously it's huge for Czech people, this incident in history, this assassination. It was the highest ranking Nazi ever taken out. It was a revelation to read about it.

WhoSay: How did you guys prepare for your roles?

Cillian Murphy: They were real people, so you have a sense of duty, a sense of responsibility. Their descendants are still around in Prague. We did as much research as was available. [Director/screenwriter] Sean Ellis envisioned this story for like 15 years, so we had a huge amount of research amassed.

New Interview of Jamie with People

People - CATCHING UP JAMIE DORNAN

You star in the new World War II thriller Anthropoid, about the assassination of a high-level Nazi. Do you consider yourself to be a history buff?

Jamie: I would say no to that! My general history of WWII was sketchy in and of itself. I wasn't the most tuned-in student in history class. But the nice thing about a ture story is that there's plenty of research out there - it was easy to find out information about the operation once I got the job. And I wanted to be as well informed as I possibly could be.
 
You just finished filming the final two 50 Shades movies. What will you miss the most - and least - about them?

Jamie: I'll miss my friends the most. The people are like family to me, and suddenly I won't be seeing them as much, and that's kind of sad. But I won't miss wearing suits, which I had to do. I don't feel comfortable in them.

What do you do in your downtime? 

Jamie: When I get home from set I usually have a drink! I'm normally so exhausted that a drink is ver much needed at the end of the day. And I'm a big golfer. A lot people don't think it's cool or whatever, but I've grown up playing it. I've spent a large portion of my life defending golf!

Transcripted by us 

New Interview of Jamie with Irish Central

Jamie Dornan isn't just a celebrity, he's a bona fide superstar, but don't imagine he's ever going to let the adulation go to his head. This week he stars alongside Cillian Murphy in the tense World War II thriller Anthropoid. Cahir O'Doherty asks him about new film, his global fame, and whether he still finds time to have the craic between all the premieres, shoots and red carpets.

As Jamie Dornan walks into the AMC Theatre at Lincoln Center in New York in a grey sharp suit with a white shirt open at the collar last week, it's a bit like watching the slow moving eye of a hurricane arrive.

That's because Dornan's found himself at the center of something immense, a white hot level of fame of the kind that doesn't happen very often, and it's hard to tell if he's the cause or the symptom.

Unable to get anywhere near him or the celebrity filled red carpet, young women -- let's call them Dornan's worshipers, because fans seems too small a word for the desperate passion in their eyes -- press up against the glass walls outside hoping for a glimpse of their Northern Irish idol.

Row after row of film actors that no one has heard of – yet – arrive and stand in front of the paparazzi's flash bulbs. Helpfully, we've all been given a tip sheet of their headshots to let us know who's who, and the photographers are already calling out their names.

But although no one says it out loud, today really belongs to the man of the moment, Mr. Fifty Shades of Grey himself.

The other young arriving actors are mostly minnows, trailing in the reflected glory of the great white whale. There's no way for them to compete with the global zeitgeist which Dornan, 34, is riding like a practiced surfer.

Earlier on this morning Dornan touched down at JFK (wearing a designer white t-shirt, slim fit black designer jeans and some stylish Nikes) and within a few short hours he's had his very discreet makeup done for the TV cameras, taped an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and is here at the Lincoln Center AMC for his latest film's premiere.