Jamie Dornan says The Tourist is his most difficult role ever. Arriving to HBO Max on March 3, The Tourist focuses on a man (played by Dornan) who wakes up in an Australian hospital. With absolutely no memory of who he is or what he knows, Dornan’s protagonist has to piece together the previous few clues he has in order to discover his identity before his past catches up to him. He isn’t alone though, as Helen Chambers (Danielle Macdonald) is a rookie cop who finds herself involved in the very strange case of lost memory. Shalom Brune-Franklin, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, and Alex Dimitriades also star.
The Tourist is a miniseries designed to keep the viewer guessing. Written by Harry Williams and Jack Williams, the story begins very differently for Dornan’s character than how it ends and, due to the nature of his memory loss, the protagonist is never quite sure who he should trust. Or even if it would be wise to trust anyone at all. But with no other way to find out about himself, Dornan’s unidentified man moves forward through six episodes that oscillate in genre and tone but always remember to keep Dornan at the center of the frame.
The Tourist’s first-look images offered a preview of what to expect and with the six episodes debuting on HBO Max at once, Dornan spoke with the Boston Herald about why the limited series was the hardest role he’s ever taken on. The actor, who also stars in the Oscar-nominated Belfast, cited the physicality of the shoot and the differences of playing a character with seemingly no history. Dornan’s quote is included below.
“This just incorporated so many different challenges, playing with drama and comedy and just madness. It was truly like nothing I read before. The hardest job I’ve ever done, for lots of reasons. But the physicality of it was pretty extreme. That mental toil of playing someone who’s going through that journey of self-discovery in that way was really draining. I don’t think I’ve ever given more to a project before. This was the longest shoot I’ve ever done and it was never an easy day. It was never like us to stop and shoot the breeze. It was always something new to see that was going on.”
Dornan, who is well known for his portrayal of Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades movies, depicts a very different kind of lead in the HBO Max series. While he’s still desirable to almost everyone he comes across, the titular tourist is nonchalant and unkempt. He’s frequently a question mark, mostly to himself rather than anyone else. Dornan admitted that it led to a different kind of process since performers like to get in touch with the individuals they’re embodying. In the case of The Tourist, that proves to be a challenge.
On the whole, Dornan’s challenging performance has earned praise. Critics agree that, even when The Tourist falters, moving from the tense vibe of the first episode to a lighter tone as it goes on along, Dornan’s central turn remains captivating to watch and one of the key reasons that the show works as well as it does. By all accounts, that difficulty led to an overall excellent role for the actor.
Source: Boston Herald
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