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Dakota Johnson says the Fifty Shades of Grey movies were "psychotic" and "scary" to film

29 June 2022, 12:21

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By Sam Prance

Dakota Johnson says that the Fifty Shades of Grey movies ended up being completely different to what she signed up for.

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Dakota Johnson has opened up about clashing with E.L. James and her difficulties filming the Fifty Shades of Grey movies.

It's no secret that Dakota Johnson became a household name after she was cast as Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades of Grey films. Just like the original E.L. James books, the erotic movies were a blockbuster success. However, they were also critically panned and Dakota and her co-star Jamie Dornan have distanced themselves from them in recent years.

Now, in a new tell-all interview, Dakota has explained that her experience behind the scenes was "scary" and "psychotic".

Dakota Johnson says the 50 Shades of Grey movies were "psychotic" and "scary" to film. Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Deadline, TCD/Prod.DB / Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Dakota explained why she signed up to star in the Fifty Shades films in the first place. She revealed: "I’m a sexual person, and when I’m interested in something, I want to know so much about it... That’s why I did those big naked movies." She then added: "I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making."

Dakota then specified that E.L. James made things difficult. She said: "She had a lot of creative control, all day, every day, and she just demanded that certain things happen. There were things that just wouldn’t work in a movie, like the inner monologue, which was at times incredibly cheesy. It was always a battle. Always."

Discussing the contract she signed, Dakota said: "I was young. I was 23. So it was scary. It just became something crazy. There were a lot of different disagreements. I haven’t been able to talk about this truthfully ever, because you want to promote a movie the right way."

"Fifty Shades Of Grey" - UK Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals. Picture: Getty

As to whether she regrets being in the films, Dakota said: "No. I don’t think it’s a matter of regret."

She then continued: "If I had known at the time that’s what it was going to be like, I don’t think anyone would’ve done it. It would’ve been like, ‘Oh, this is psychotic.’ But no, I don’t regret it."