Jamie Dornan reveals he auditioned for Superman in his superhero pyjamas

The conversation reveals he could have nabbed a spot alongside his Heart of Stone co-star Gal Gadot on the DCEU's ill-fated trinity, comprised of Wonder Woman (Gadot), Batman (Ben Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill).

More than a decade ago, he auditioned for the lead role in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, but made an unconventional choice that might have cost him the job.

"The only one I auditioned for is Superman," he began. "That was way back when, like, when Henry Cavill got cast. That’s probably 12 years ago or something. I wore my own suit there. Was that a mistake? They were Superman pyjamas, they weren’t an actual suit."

Dornan continued: "I remember an early audition for that. I got nowhere near putting the [real] suit on… I’ve had meetings with heads of studios that do those things and would talk about it, but I never got deep in any audition process for them."

The actor ultimately shot to international stardom as the male lead in the erotic Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, which clocked up more than a billion dollars at the global box office, but was subject to ridicule by critics. That was no surprise.

"I knew that it came with all that baggage," he explained. "That the reality was it would make a ton of money and the fans would love it and the critics would despise it. That’s what happened with the books and that’s what we were making.

"We were staying truthful to the books, and we knew what that would be.”

Fortunately, his career was able to bounce back from that awkward period with roles in awards contenders A Private War and Belfast, as well as BBC One's hit thriller The Tourist, which is returning for season 2.

Co-star Dakota Johnson has also gone on to more respected work, including horror remake Suspiria and comedy-drama The Peanut Butter Falcon, along with Oscar nominee The Lost Daughter, where she starred opposite Olivia Colman.

Dornan added: “Movies that are made for the fans, that fans love, can be seen as a success. I’m grateful that Dakota and I have managed to come out [in the years since] and make work that people still like and have had some of those said critics do a bit of a 180."

Heart of Stone is available to stream on Netflix. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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