Is Jamie Dornan Already The Next Big Star, Before 'Fifty Shades of Grey'?

By this time next year Jamie Dornan will probably be a household name, thanks to his starring role in the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey. Whilst we might be sitting back and waiting for Chrsitian Grey to hit the big screen, Jamie is doing nothing of the sort. Instead he has a new TV show, New Worlds, beginning tonight on Channel 4. So before we've even seen him as Christian Grey, we've got to ask, is Jamie Dornan Hollywood's next big star?

Jamie Dornan who is starring in New Worlds

There was a time when Jamie Dornan’s name had to be preceded with the words Kiera Knightly’s ex, thankfully those days are over. Belfast born Jamie dated the actress between 2003 and 2005, back when he was a model who appeared in campaigns alongside Kate Moss and Eva Mendes. The modelling career wasn't going too bad, but Jamie soon began to turn his attention to acting. He first had a small part in 2006’s Marie Antoinette which was followed up by a 2008 Myspace film release entitled Beyond the Rave. Neither roles saw Jamie's acting carrer take off and it would be a few years before Dornan landed his big break. It would be through television, not movies that Dornan would finally start to see his acting career take off.

Television audiences first got their introduction to Jamie when he appeared in ABC’s Once Upon A Time, playing Storybrooke’s Sheriff Graham who was also the Huntsman who spared Snow White in the Enchanted Forest. That one sounds a lot more complicated than it is. But just when audiences were starting to really take to Graham the character sadly met his end in episode 7 of season one, giving the show its first big shocker moment. Many fans mourned the death of the Sherrif, but he would appear again in flashbacks throughout the rest of the season. Dornan’s next big TV role came in 2013 crime drama The Fall, where he played a serial killer alongside Gillian Anderson. The extremely sucessfull series became the BBC’s first massive drama hit for over a decade, attracting large audiences and also receiving critical praise. It has since been confirmed that a second series is in the works.

Of course Jamie hit the headlines when he was cast as the lead in the Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation after Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam dropped out. But before Jamie suits up as Christian Grey, we get to see him in an altogether different role, in Channel 4's New Worlds. The four episode mini-series comes from the team of the 2008 BAFTA-nominated The Devil’s Whore. Set in the 1680s, with the drama taking place on both sides of the Atlantic, 'two young men and two young women commit their lives to a fairer future with blood, passion and urgency'. Starring alongside Jamie is Game of Throne’s Joe Dempsie. Early reviews of this one are positive and suggest it's well worth tuning in for, after all what else is there to do on a Tuesday night. 

Next page: The Fifty Shades of Grey movie

Of course Valentine’s day next year sees Fifty Shades of Grey’s much anticipated release. If all goes to plan, this could be the movie that fully launches Dornan’s career into Hollywood superstardom. So far the word is that the film might not be as raunchy as the books, but that doesn't mean they'll be holding back too much on the story's more explicit aspects. After all it's what the public wants isn't it.

Right now Dornan has been doing the promotional rounds for New Worlds and facing the inevitable Fifty Shades of Grey questions. It seems, perhaps problematically, Dornan's already become known as Christian Grey before anyones even seen his performance. Forgetting next year's release, Dornan's TV career so far has already proven he's an actor of note, even if he didn't have a potential mega hit coming our way. Right now Jamie's probably hoping audiences can put Christian Grey to the back of their minds and enjoy New Worlds, afterall Jamie's not a soon to be star, really he's already made it.

More: 'New Worlds' Kicks Off Tonight: What Should We Expect?

More: '50 Shades of Grey Movie' Could Be Tamer Than Expected, As First Footage Shows