How Dakota Johnson And Jamie Dornan Really Got Along During Fifty Shades Of Grey

The "50 Shades of Grey" franchise helped capitulate them to the kind of Hollywood stardom and name recognition that some could only dream of, but for Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, there were just as many pros and cons to starring in the steamy films. Dornan has gone on the record to say that he doesn't appreciate how the films have often been the butt of many jokes, telling GQ in 2021, "I take issue with the whole thing being just a bit of a joke. Everyone involved worked as hard as they could on those films, including myself."

Not only that, but there's also been a lot of speculation about Johnson and Dornan's relationship, both on-camera and off. Just because the two actors worked in such close proximity because of their very intimate on-camera scenes, a lot of people couldn't help but wonder how they were behind the scenes, too.

Dakota Johnson says there was no bad blood between her and Jamie Dornan

There was so much speculation on whether or not Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson were dating in real life that some fans even came up with theories that suggested they were living a very private second life away from the cameras. While on "The Jonathan Ross Show" back in December 2021, Dornan said while there was no truth to any of the claims, some of them were some real head scratchers. He said (via Metro), "There's a lot of absurd fan theories about that world and those characters and that Dakota Johnson and I have children together. I don't know where we keep them. I've got three of my own kids to worry about."

If that weren't enough, there were also rumors of a feud between Johnson and Dornan, too. But Johnson told Vanity Fair that there was absolutely no bad blood between her and the Northern Ireland native. She said, "There was never a time when we didn't get along. I know it's weird, but he's like a brother to me. I love him so, so, so much. And we were really there for each other. We had to really trust each other and protect each other." However, she did also say that working on the set of the "50 Shades" films did feel "psychotic," too.

Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson's lifelong friendship

In her interview with Vanity Fair, Dakota Johnson said that if she knew how "psychotic" the process would be behind making the "50 Shades" films beforehand, she would have thought twice about signing onto the project. However, both Johnson and Jamie Dornan did admit that the trilogy helped spark a lifelong friendship between them. In an interview with NBC's "Today" in 2017, Johnson cheekily said that she and Dornan "were kind of forced into being best friends," with her co-star responding with, "I couldn't have said it nicer myself." 

That said, Dornan added that he appreciates the bond he's managed to build with Johnson both on and off-camera. He said, "It's a very unique sort of friendship. It's a friendship that is built on maybe more trust than other friendships need to be because of the situations we had to get through with each other." That sounds like "50 Shades" of a solid friendship to us.