The actor talks family, fame, and fashion with his The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum costar, Leo Woodall.

PHOTOGRAPHY Charlie Gray
STYLED BY Luke Day

Jamie Dornan’s IMDb page reads like a study in creative range. From Pa in Belfast to Paul Spector in The Fall to Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey films, the Irish actor, 44, has refused to be typecast. His versatility is reflected in his upcoming roles, which include playing identical twins in Netflix’s crime-noir The Undertow and acting across three separate timelines in Apple TV’s heist drama 12 12 12, premiering November 13. “I’ve always been intrigued by heists and thought, What a cool world to plant yourself in,” Dornan says. “It’s very active; there was a lot of running around and scheming across different cities, and you’re constantly being pushed and pulled into different worlds.”
Dornan, who lives in London with his wife, film composer Amelia Warner, and their three daughters, is currently in New Zealand inhabiting one of pop culture’s most recognizable worlds: Middle-earth, for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Even by Dornan’s standards, taking on Strider—the role famously played by Viggo Mortensen in the early-aughts films—in the much-anticipated prequel is a tall task. “There’s pressure in trying to fill those shoes,” he says. “I’ve been asked to perform a role that is super-iconic, and I’ll do the best I can. But for me, Strider will only ever be Viggo. His performance is one of my all-time favorites, and I feel honored to try to emulate some of the energy he originally brought to the role. There isn’t one part of me trying to better that.”
There’s one person who’s already a big fan of Dornan’s portrayal: costar Leo Woodall, 29, who plays Dúnadan Ranger Halvard in the new film. “I can say that my Strider is now Jamie Dornan,” says the English actor, who first met Dornan over a pint at the Cambridge Hotel in Wellington, New Zealand, in June. Ahead of production, multiple mutual friends had told them, You guys are going to get on. They were right. The lifelong Lord of the Rings fans have quickly bonded over their shared enthusiasm for the project—and from their respective North Island home bases, they carved out time to Zoom about the experience so far.

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LEO WOODALL: Hi Jamie. How are you, mate?
JAMIE DORNAN: Hi Leo. We’ve never been on Zoom together. This is a totally new experience for us.&nbsp;
LW: I know. Where are you? 
JD: I’m in the little office part of the house. I’ve decided to come in here because the kids are playing some mad game and they’re building dens [forts] and stuff.
LW: And you’re missing out on that? 
JD: I am. I’ve built enough dens in the last 12 and a half years that I feel like I can miss out on den-making right now. It’s been amazing having the kids here, though. There’s an element of guilt when you drag your family to literally the farthest point from where you live, but they’ve been making the most of their time and have had fun visiting the set. Seeing me dressed up as Strider and the whole world that’s created around Middle-earth is very exciting. They’ve seen the original films, so it’s been really cool for them.
LW: If you were dropped into Middle-earth tomorrow, how long do you think you’d survive? 
JD: What do I have? And am I dropped in as Strider, or as Jamie Dornan?
LW: Jamie Dornan. And you can have my little dagger. 
JD: If I had a wee dagger, I think I’d probably survive a week.
LW: A week? In the Shire? 
JD: If I was in the Shire, they’d be welcoming. I’d just be in that pub with them and live out my days there. It would depend very specifically on where I was dropped in. [Laughs]
LW: That’s fair. Were your kids out in Australia with you when you did The Tourist [2022]? 
JD: Yeah, that was five months and they fully went to school there and everything. Now for the rest of their lives, they’re going to have this foundation in Australia. We don’t want to be doing that every year or even every other year, though. It’s disruptive. So you pick and choose those adventures. When I shot 12 12 12 last year, I was in Budapest for over five months and the kids didn’t come out once, but I flew home to London every weekend. For every job I do, on top of weighing the usual stuff like the script and director, it’s, How can I make this work for a family of five people? Six, including the dog.
LW: The dog who didn’t get included in this trip. 
JD: Leonard Cohen Dornan is extremely missed. I’m jealous of my family getting to go back and see him in a couple of weeks. You’ve never even met our dog, and I literally send you pictures of him.
LW: I’m like, There’s our boy! How do you maintain a sense of home regardless of where you are? 
JD: Having the family there helps. Otherwise, I’m either trying to be at home in London or what I consider my spiritual home of Ireland. If I can make a combination of those three things or work, that’s enough for me. If I can’t, I’ll get home as often as possible.
LW: Do you have any small things, like a special candle or pillow, that make a space feel like yours? 
JD: I don’t. But I notice when I go into your trailer, you’ve actually done some stuff to make it feel a bit nicer. You do have a candle, and you’re the sort of person who uses diffusers and stuff... [Laughs]
LW: I do not have a candle in my trailer. [Laughs] All I have is a speaker. But maybe I will start doing that, because who doesn’t love a good candle? I’ll tell you what though, I’ve completely kitted out my little apartment in Wellington with stuff I like. I bought a throw for the sofa, a couple of lamps, and bedside tables. I really value coming home and just feeling like the space is my own. It can be a bit of a sanctuary. 
JD: If your lady friend [actor Meghann Fahy] wasn’t coming out, would you still be like that?

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LW: I think she’s definitely instilled a bit of that in me. But having some of your own stuff for the small duration of the job makes a difference. Okay, I want to talk about style. Before we first met for a pint out in Cambridge, I remember wondering how you were going to be dressed and if you’d be wearing something flashy. I was like, He’s Jamie Dornan, ex-model and Hollywood hunk. Then you walked in with your cap, your green Moncler track jacket, and your New Balance trainers. And I was like, Yeah, we’re going to get on. 
JD: I want to be comfortable. I do have the odd nice piece, though. I just had a beautiful brown suede jacket made for me by Tom Arena; his brand is Atelier Arena. You and I also have to shout out I Love Ugly, which is a quite prominent New Zealand brand that’s really well-made.

"There's an element of guilt when you drag your family to the farthest point from where you live."

LW: Do you think your Northern Irish roots have shaped your style at all? 
JD: Not to throw an entire nation of people under the bus, but Northern Irish men aren’t known for being great dressers. There’s a real epidemic in the North of men of a certain age— who consider themselves stylish—wearing very loud, horrific shirts everywhere. It’s almost shaped my style with what to avoid. But in saying that, arguably the biggest name in fashion, [Dior Creative Director] Jonathan Anderson, is from where I’m from. That’s a stylish man from the North.
LW: You guys are carrying the mantle for your nation. I will say, you are a very stylish man. You know what suits you. 
JD: I find that critical. Style is worse when you take big swings just because other people are wearing it. I started modeling at 20, so I’ve been in fittings with the best of the best telling me what works for nearly a quarter of a century. I know what works, and I don’t even try stuff on when I’m shopping.

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LW: I worked in Hollister when I was 18 for about six months, and they would tell me I wasn’t talking to customers enough and that I needed to help them pick outfits. I had absolutely no clue how to dress at 18, though—still don’t, to be fair. But I do feel like it’s a bit of a minefield in the industry. I’ve rocked out in some clothes that were inspired by other dudes at events, and when you’re in stuff that doesn’t feel like you, it can completely change your mindset and your confidence. 
JD: Peacocking is a big thing—particularly with the younger guys in our industry who are trying to outdo each other at premieres—and I see some of these looks and I’m like, For fuck’s sake. But then I think, That guy might be really comfortable in that, and that’s for him to own. Like you, I have now and again worn something slightly outside my comfort zone—and it’s impossible to enjoy myself on those nights when I’m so in my head. But there’s a thing you see guys getting drawn into where they go, Oh, that peer or mate of mine is suddenly wearing quite flamboyant shit, and I need to do that to get on this website. I don’t give a fuck about any of that. Gone are the days of really trying to pop in any kind of way.
LW: I love the opportunity to branch out a little bit and discover new styles, which is why you pay someone who knows better than you to help with that. What did you wear in 12 12 12? 
JD: Our costume designer, Lynsey Moore, was amazing. If you’re trying to play a character that exudes confidence, you’ve got to feel confident in what you’re wearing—and I’ve become more vocal about that in recent years.
LW: The show is heist-y. Do you like heist-y?&nbsp;
JD: As an actor, I think it’s a rite of passage to be involved in a heist project at some point. The concept of 12 12 12 was really cool to me, too—this idea from the FBI that a proper heist takes, on average, 12 months of planning, 12 hours in execution, and if they don’t catch a culprit within 12 days, they tend to get away with it. The show bounces around those three timelines and it’s all very high-stakes.

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LW: Are there any kinds of roles where you’re just like, I don’t have any interest in doing that?
JD: I’ve been really lucky, particularly in the last 14 years or so, because I get quite a varied palette of stuff that comes my way. I haven’t seemed to be shoehorned into anything or typecast. I’ve done some silly and fun comedy, and I’ve done some really dark, sinister stuff. I realize that is a gift; some actors are pigeonholed. But it really works for some actors to do action film after action film.
LW: Or to just play the villain.
JD: Sure, and if that’s your thing, good. But for whatever reason—maybe because I’m putting out that I don’t want it to be—that just hasn’t been the shape of my career. I can do a few things that are really heightened or otherworldly, and then I want to find something that’s grounded in real life.
LW: It’s a credit to you as an actor that you can slot into Paul Spector in The Fall and then play Strider, the most noble, heroic character who’s ever lived. What was it like playing twins [in The Undertow]? 
JD: I was terrified. There’s a unique challenge in having enough nuance—in terms of movement, voice, and temperament—as you alter between each character. I had seen the original [Norwegian television series] Twin and I was very intrigued to tell that story from a non-Scandinavian point of view. This is set in Scotland. And as a filmmaking exercise, it was fascinating to have a stand-in read lines against me for the scenes my characters are in together. It’s a real headfuck.
LW: You’ve said in the past that Belfast gave you a sense of freedom you hadn’t experienced on the job before. What allowed you to feel that free?
JD: I have never done a job where I felt so trusted in my life. Twenty-two years into my career, I feel like I’m still trying to prove myself all the time—and I’m not saying it’s unhealthy; I think it’s healthy to want to put your best foot forward. I’ve got a good work ethic and I want to do the best I can, but I’m always driven by trying to prove myself. With Belfast, [writer and director] Kenneth Branagh instilled trust in me from the very beginning. There was no one else in the world who he wanted playing his dad in his life story. Knowing you’re supported by the director and surrounded by phenomenal talent, I found it really liberating. And it meant I could just enjoy myself. I feel very fortunate I got to tell that story, from a very problematic time in my home city’s history. You cannot take those jobs for granted. To be in one movie that is received that way—I think it was the third-most-nominated movie [at the 2022 Academy Awards]—you go on a real ride, and you just try to enjoy it.

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LW:&nbsp;How have you navigated being a famous person?
JD: I think the key aspect is not allowing yourself to think you’re famous. Once you concede that you’re famous, you’re basically accepting that you are other, and that you should be approached or treated differently. I think that’s dangerous—because when you’re publicly recognized, you end up becoming some heightened version of who you are anyway, whether you’re a good, considerate person or a self-serving prick. I also think there are two types of people: You either maintain your lifelong friendships, or you cut ties with anyone who knew you before you were famous. The people who don’t get bamboozled by the lights of it all are the ones who do okay, because they’ve had people keep them in line. I’ve had the same group of mates—some of them since I was four years old, the rest since I was 12—and they will be my best friends for my whole life. If you’re surrounded by people who’ve only known you since you’ve been successful and they say yes to everything and agree with all of your madness, then you’re fucked, I think.
LW: I find it vital to have a sense of humor about it all. The word famous is kind of gross, but I think semi-famous is funny. Or C-list famous. It’s silly, but you’ve got a good group of people around you that keep your feet on the ground. There’s so much of it to be enjoyed, but not taken seriously. Ultimately, your work speaks for itself, and that’s what you’ve been able to do very well. Okay, enough of this acting shit. No one really cares about our careers. Should we talk about golf? What is your golf handicap?
JD: Six.
LW: How long do you think it’s going to take me to get to a six? Go easy now.
JD: I think it’d take a couple of years. It’s all about effort and time. You’re a busy man, but you have to put the fucking time in.

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GROOMING:&nbsp;Talia Sparrow&nbsp;FORWARD ARTISTS
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Jamie Dornan Enters the Next Realm

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