Jamie Dornan says he was 'relieved' when Charlie Hunnam was initially cast over him in 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

• Jamie Dornan told British GQ that he anticipated the backlash against "Fifty Shades of Grey."
• The "Belfast" actor said he was "relieved" when he initially heard he didn't get the part.

Jamie Dornan told British GQ that he was "relieved" to hear he'd initially missed out on the role as Christian Grey in "Fifty Shades of Grey."

Dornan, of course, went on to star as the lead in the blockbuster franchise, based on the erotic romantic novel series of the same name. Whilst none of the movies in the franchise were critically acclaimed, the first movie was a box office hit and fired Dornan into stardom.

In an interview with British GQ for its "GQ heroes," Dornan said that he anticipated that the movies would get a backlash from critics.

"I was very reluctant," Dornan said about being involved with the movie. "I still remain reluctant. I didn't say no. I auditioned for it and then went down the path of that and then someone else got it."

Dornan said he was "relieved" to hear that Charlie Hunnam, who later told The Times of London that he was going to base his portrayal of Christian Grey on Elon Musk, initially got the part.

Dornan continued: "I was like, 'Fuck, that's great, what a nightmare for that guy. He's going to have all this scrutiny. Before anyone's heard him do anything, he's gonna be really hated. And so many people rage against the casting of it alone.'

"Anyway he dropped it and then I filled in and felt that wrath of hatred."

When asked about how he felt about the backlash, Dornan said: "There's nothing like 'Fifty Shades' in terms of, it was based on books and we were staying very close to these books. These books were loved by fandom. Really loved, obsessively loved, and despised by every critic unless you're like some online bloggy critic. Real critics hated the books.

"You know that you're going to have these movies that are for the fans, that the fans are going to love, that are gonna make a ton of money," the "Fifty Shades" star added. "But you know that the critics will be just, you know, licking their lips and that's exactly what happened. And we knew that was going to happen so you're watching that play out and at times that's fucking difficult."

Although Dornan previously told Vulture that he would never take a movie role like "Fifty Shades" again, the 39-year-old actor told British GQ that he doesn't regret taking the role.

"The thing is every move I have made in my career, post those films, I have only been able to do because of those films," Dornan said. "All of the stuff, like 'Belfast,' 'Beyond Private' or any like well-received more independent stuff I've done the last five or six years, they're only paying for those films to be made off my name because I'm in a franchise that made $1.4 billion. That's how that works. It's all part of it, it's given me so much, so of course, I don't regret it."

Dornan's latest movie "Belfast" is in theatres now and Insider's review said that Dornan is "destined for Oscar glory" based on his performance.