Jamie Dornan is, arguably, one of the hottest actors on the planet at the moment — but his insane star power hasn't saved him from every actor's worst nightmare: the cutting room floor. Dornan's scenes from upcoming film Burnt were reportedly cut, but the actor's role in Fifty Shades of Grey is certainly not to blame.
As you've probably heard, the trailer for Burnt was recently released. It features Bradley Cooper in the starring role as a chef named Adam Jones, who destroys his career with drugs and then tries to make a comeback. Other famous faces you'll see pop up include Uma Thurman, Lily James, Sienna Miller, Matthew Rhys, and Emma Thompson — awesome cast, right? Well, Dornan reportedly shot a few scenes for the film, but the director opted to cut him out — his name isn't even on the movie's IMDB page— because his work didn't fit in with the story line.
An article from Movie Plot suggests that Dornan may have been cut because moviemakers will be unable to see him or accept him in lots of roles he would have probably snagged prior to playing Christian Grey. The implication is that the more deeply embedded he becomes in the Fifty Shades universe, the less likely he is to make it as a serious actor.
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While I certainly feel like the writer makes a valid point, I disagree. For starters, in addition to signing on to play Christian Grey in Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, Jamie has three new films on the horizon: The 9th Life of Louis Drax, Jadotville, and Anthropoid — all of which require him to play roles vastly different from Grey.
While it's possible the director or producers feared Jamie is so intricately connected to Christian Grey in people's minds that they would be too distracted by his on-screen presence to focus on the film's narrative, I like to think we're talking about film professionals who accept that Jamie is a talented actor capable of portraying many diverse characters. Playing a pirate hasn't kept Johnny Depp from taking on meatier roles like Whitey Bulger in Black Mass — actors are perfectly capable of taking on several different personas. The entire point is that they should be able portray various characters — why else are they earning millions per movie?
Besides: The proof in in the pudding. Jamie's role in Fifty Shades has yet to affect his (or Dakota Johnson's) ability to be cast in other roles. A close association with a film franchise certainly hasn't hurt Kristen Stewart or Robert Pattinson, right? If anything, Twilight encouraged Kristen and Rob to pursue interesting, indie projects that proved to the world that they are anything but lightweight actors.
Playing Grey sets Jamie up financially — he'll never have to work another day in his life. That freedom will only allow him to make bolder choices when it comes to the roles he plays. No worries — the trilogy won't hurt his career.
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