Jamie Dornan, star of thedrama movie Belfast and science fiction movie Synchronic, isn’t quite sure how he’s made acting his career. In an interview with Spider-Man actor Kristen Dunst, he’s quick to point he thought he was one and done as performer.
Dornan and Dunst first met on the romance movie Marie Antoinette, his first feature-length role. As he jokes when they start reminiscing on Variety’s Actors on Actors, the thought crossed his mind that it might also be his last. “I remember thinking it might be my last. I remember thinking I really don’t know what I’m doing here,” Dornan says, become coming to the grave realisation this all happened 17 years ago.
The pair discuss how nervous they were on Sofia Coppolla’s period piece, about the life of Marien Antoinette in the lead up to the French Revolution. “All our stuff was like making out, and I’m not comfortable with that. It’s never comfortable, ever,” Dunst says, to reassure Dornan, who calls it a “pretty good first gig”. Certainly didn’t hurt either career, anyway.
Dornan’s enjoyed a lucrative career since, with one of the roles in thriller movies 50 Shades of Grey and Robin Hood. He starred in Belfast, a family movie that’s something of a homecoming for him since it’s set in Northern Ireland.
Dunst, meanwhile, had The Power of the Dog out from Jane Campion. At the time of Marie Antoinette, she was coming Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, where she played Mary-Jane Watson to Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker. Dornan recalls relying on her experience, and being very impressed by the results.
“You handled it well. I thought you were in control of everything,” he says.