Jamie Dornan said he used to pretend to be a 'landscape gardener' on dates because he was embarrassed about being a model

• Jamie Dornan said he used to hide his career as a model.
• Dornan described the modeling industry as "douche-y as fuck."

Jamie Dornan gave a rundown of his early career as a male model during a new profile in GQ magazine.

"I didn't love it. And I still don't like having my photograph taken. I find it odd. I find it an unnatural thing to happen," Dornan said of his time as a model, which spanned around six years. "It's not fun to be told continually to move your head about like it is on a swivel. 'Chin up. Chin down...'"

Dornan continued to say that he felt lucky he never had to perform at a fashion show because he "couldn't handle other male models, that hyper energy," which he later described as "douche-y as fuck."

"Too much nonsense," he said of the modeling industry. "Whenever I went on a date or met a girl in a pub or whatever, I'd say I was a landscape gardener or worked for Google - anything but admit to having my photograph taken for a living."

Although the 39-year-old said that his time as a model did help him get "comfortable, or uncomfortable" around a camera.

Over his modeling career, Dornan posed for the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch, Dior Homme, and later Calvin Klein alongside Kate Moss and Eva Mendes. In 2006, he was named "The Golden Torso" by The New York Times and dubbed "the male Kate Moss" by GQ.

Later this year, Dornan is set to star in British filmmaker Kenneth Branagh's latest film "Belfast." In an early review of the film, Insider described Dornan's performance as "uniquely physical and emotional" and "destined for Oscar glory."