There is a climactic scene in Wild Mountain Thyme where Jamie Dornan is so uncomfortable in his own skin that it looks like he wants to escape from his very famous body. It’s endearing and funny – and if you listen to the actor that became an overnight heartthrob in the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy – he will assure you that John Patrick Shanley’s, Anthony, is more akin to his true nature than that of the posturing Christian Grey. With intense character portrayals in The Fall, My Dinner with Hervé and A Private War where the internal journey is the fascination, it’s not surprising that his films have earned more than $500 million in the USA alone. That has given Dornan the freedom to experiment with action, (Robin Hood) and now comedy (Wild Mountain Thyme and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar – 2021). Wild Mountain Thyme is the perfect antidote to 2020, filled with humor and romance, co-starring Emily Blunt and Christopher Walken, from the imagination and direction of John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Moonstruck), it is based on his play, Outside Mullingar.   

The work you’ve done previously has been dramatic and Wild Mountain Thyme is your first comedy. Any reason for this?

I feel like Wild Mountain Thyme has comedic moments but that it’s essentially old-school-romantic-fable. There’s a part of me that’s always been closer to the lighter side of life than some of the other sides I’ve played and it’s something I haven’t been able to show people before. People have an idea of how I am on screen and the characters I play, and Anthony is everything I haven’t played before, it was this whole other world, which was a very exciting prospect

In Fifty Shades you had to be supremely comfortable in your body and in this, you had to be supremely uncomfortable. How did you incorporate that awkwardness?

I have played a lot of characters – Christian Grey, Paul Spector in The Fall – who are all about control and confidence and knowing what they want. Anthony is the opposite of that. He is so uncomfortable in his own skin. He doesn’t believe in himself, doesn’t know what he wants or even if he wants it. Physically he is awkward and terrible at expressing himself. I’m not that but I definitely have versions and insecurities within myself that are much closer to Anthony than those controlled characters that I’ve played.

I struggled with the physicality of Christian Grey because of his always perfect posture, he’s always holding himself so well, he cares so much about the physicality and that’s something I really have to work on because personally, I’m way more relaxed than that. 

So, the opportunity to play someone who can relax into their body and almost trip over their body a couple of times, that appealed to me in a big way. That idea of playing someone who is very complicated and isn’t always able to articulate himself or grab the things that are important to him even when they are handed to him on a plate – I loved getting inside his mind.

How familiar were you with John Patrick Shanley’s work?

I saw Doubt, and read the play, Outside Mullingar, which Wild Mountain Thyme is based upon. I was a fan of Moonstruck and watched it a couple of times as a kid. It resonated with me because it was a bit ‘other’ – a little peculiar or different from anything else you’d seen. I’m also a big fan of Joe Versus the Volcano. Anything of Tom Hanks from that early era, I’m all over and just love. 

John brings a sense of unique poetry to everything he writes. Wild Mountain Thyme was written like that, especially the big 25-page kitchen scene that Emily and I had, which covered everything we’d ever wanted to say, not been able to say, or had been held back from saying; our whole relationship is embodied in that scene. They almost talk to each other in verse. It’s so different from anything I’ve seen in a script before. That was the big appeal and for whatever reason he wanted me to do it.

The rain. Talk about the muck, the mud and the mess of working in the rain.

Rain brings drama. Everything is elevated in the rain. Naturally, it rains a lot in the northwest of Ireland, but we also had rain machines – in the beginning where I’m struggling at the gates and then at the big climactic scene. Emily got the worst of it. The way the wind was blowing she was getting it directly in her eyes and they were going all flickery. I thought, ‘God, this is violent! 

Were you trepidatious about your proposal?

I didn’t struggle as much. It’s a big thing; it’s a monumental moment, probably the most important and loaded question you are going to ask of anybody in your life. You are definitely mindful of that. I knew I wanted to do it so I felt at ease and confident. You have to be aware they can say no! I’m not sure that crossed my mind that day, I was pretty confident.

How comfortable are you with farm animals?

We live in the countryside, besides a farm. We have a couple of goats, chickens, a rabbit, a horse and a dog. We’ve got quite a lot of animals here – but not a farm. I grew up in rural Ireland, outside of a city. My mother says her family were pig farmers. I’ve spent time on farms, and we are surrounded by farms where we live. I’m really allergic to most farm animals. I get myself in quite a lot of bother if I’m too close to horses, cows and sheep.

In the film you go, “I don’t know what a man’s place is.” Do you relate to that idea?

I can relate to that moment of What’s a man for now? I had two older sisters growing up, and I have three daughters and a wife now. I am surrounded by females! I sometimes find myself asking that question: What is my place? I get left out of a lot of stuff. There’s a lot of doors closed, and I come in and go, ‘Guys can I come in?’ “No, it’s girls only,” and I go, ‘It’s just me and the dog!”

If women’s place is getting stronger in society, generally, I think that’s a good thing. They have got a long way to go sadly. They are in a position where it’s not an equal playing field in every aspect of society sadly, it’s headed in the right direction, which is only a good thing.

You’ve been criticized for your Irish accent in this movie. How do you feel about that?

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. In Ireland, we are a real country of piss takers. No matter what you put out into the world you are going to have the piss taken out of you! I’m totally accepting of that. Some person’s version of the ‘right’ or ‘good Irish accent’ is very different than another’s – and they can be in the same village, let alone on the other side of the world – when you make a movie you make a movie for everyone to see it. You will get judgment from certain areas and won’t get judgment from others, and that’s fine. It’s all part of putting content out there and letting there be a subjective response. I have an accent, who doesn’t? We all have them. Everyone is unique and we all have weird and wonderful ways of talking – that’s what makes the world so cool. You wouldn’t find me being harsh about someone’s accent because I’m accepting of all of them, but I’m also accepting of the fact that people are going to take the mickey – and that’s fine too.