Calling all “Twilight” and “Fifty Shades of Grey” fans: Christian Grey has had dinner with Edward Cullen.
Jamie Dornan, who headlines the upcoming Focus Features adaptation of E.L. James’ best-selling novel, opened up to Variety about spending some time with Robert Pattinson.
They became friends after Dornan filmed “Fifty Shades” last year, a role that Pattinson reportedly turned down. Pattinson’s performance as Edward in the “Twilight” films helped inspire James to write “Fifty Shades,” which has sold 100 million copies worldwide.
“I’ve been around Rob long enough to see what it’s been like for him,” Dornan says in the cover story from this week’s issue of Variety. “I don’t know if it’s been a benefit to witness that. Whatever that is.”
Dornan then added: “By the way, it’s not the same thing. We’re not the ‘Twilight’ franchise. We’re a different thing. Whatever my situation is, it’s going to be different from Rob’s. They are incomparable.”
What did Dornan and Pattinson talk about? “I don’t remember what we talked about the last time I saw him,” Dornan says. “I think we just got drunk.”
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Even though “Fifty Shades” won’t open until Valentine’s Day weekend, Dornan’s already noticed a spotlight on his personal life. The paparazzi has been trailing him around in London, where he lives with his wife Amelia Warner and 1-year-old daughter.
“In London, they follow you around and you try to lose them, which is not a comfortable thing if you have a baby in the back of your car,” Dornan says. “If I have a bike and I’m by myself, I can lose them, especially if they are on foot or on a moped.”
Dornan spent Golden Globes weekend in Los Angeles, where he met some of his new admirers. “I’m astonished at how many people are telling me my life is going to change,” he says. “Everyone that I meet, especially in L.A. People who run studios or other actors or people who are strangers. Everyone has been saying that to me, ‘Are you ready?’ I don’t have a good answer to that, because I don’t know what I’m meant to be ready for. Whatever happens, happens. I’ll just roll with the punches.”
