Story
Surpassing many other stars, blonde beauty Dakota Johnson became the seductive Anastasia and had many fiercely hot scenes in the feverish film adaptation.
More than 100 million copies of the book have been sold around the world, while the total number of views of the movie’s trailers on Youtube is 193 million – those are numbers that speak volumes about the heat of 50 Shades of Grey. That is also a huge pressure placed on the two main actors, especially Dakota Johnson. At the age of 25, this is her first big movie and also the most controversial since she started her career.
Children of the family
In 2006, the Texas-born beauty was awarded the title “Miss Golden Globe” by the Association of Foreign Journalists in Hollywood. This is an award to honor the children of figures in the entertainment industry. Dakota Johnson is the third generation in a family with an artistic tradition. Her father is actor Don Johnson and her mother is actress Melanie Griffith (ex-wife of actor Antonio Banderas). According to her maternal family, her grandmother is star Tippi Hedren, famous for the movie The Birds by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock and won a Golden Globe Award.
With the beauty and passion for art inherited from previous generations, Dakota Johnson soon had the opportunity to enter the showbiz world. Johnson’s first modeling career was at the age of 12, when she participated in a photo project for Teen Vogue magazine with the children of other stars. Johnson’s debut film Crazy in Alabama (1999) was directed by his stepfather Antonio Banderas. But Johnson’s family decided to let her follow the path of art after completing her education.
That’s why the gap between her first film and her next film is up to 11 years. After completing high school, Johnson officially signed a contract with the agency and began his acting career. In 2010, this blonde beauty played a supporting role in the hugely successful work in both quality and revenue, The Social Network. She plays the one-night lover of programmer Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake).
Great challenge
Released in 2011, to date the novel Fifty Shades of Gray by female author E. L. James has sold more than 100 million copies (both in print and e-book) and has been translated into more than 50 languages. This work describes the relationship between student Anastasia Steele and billionaire Christian Gray in a hot and controversial way. The sex scenes in the book are described very realistically and boldly, even mentioning masochism.
In September 2013, Dakota Johnson and actor Charlie Hunnam were the two names chosen to play the two main characters. But just two months later, Hunnam suddenly withdrew from this long-awaited project due to disagreements with the script and fear that the film would affect his career. Dakota remains and has a new co-star, handsome actor Jamie Dornan. The 50 Shades of Gray project officially started filming from there and was set for a release date of February 13 to burn up the box office with hot scenes on Valentine’s Day.
Since then, Dakota has rarely talked about herself, even though the character Anastasia and the love scenes in the movie have become the subject of many articles and controversies. In the UK, the movie poster in which her character was blindfolded and showed pleasure on her face was banned from being hung in theaters because it was too suggestive. Co-star Jamie Dornan shyly shared about how he “had to do things with Dakota that I would never do with a woman in real life” when she was almost naked.
Only in a recent interview did the beauty born in 1989 share about the difficulties of filming: “I want to portray the hot scenes in the most natural way, like the way Anastasia first experienced this type of sex.” in the story. I always feel a lot of pressure during filming scenes, but luckily my mother told me that I have the right to ask to limit the number of people present on set. I was blindfolded and tied with a tie, so every time the director said ‘Cut’, Jamie immediately came closer and covered me with a blanket.”
Dakota also did not hesitate to defend her character: “Anastasia is not a weak girl who is easily controlled, all decisions are made by herself.”
Both Jamie Dornan and director Taylor-Johnson had good words about her. Taylor-Johnson recalls the first time Dakota auditioned: “We gave her a part in Persona (1966) and she absolutely blew everyone away. She understood the hidden meaning of the performance and conveyed it delicately. Dakota has the ability to be fragile, but at the same time has a hidden source of strength that makes you believe she will succeed.”
Meanwhile, Dornan praised the “shades” of Johnson’s emotions: “Dakota is a very funny girl, but also has the ability to act seriously very well. She can make you laugh with a joke, but the next moment she can break your heart. Dakota is a perfect actor.”
That possibility of change still cannot erase the fact that 50 Shades of Gray has a lot of hot scenes, with the duration taking up one-fifth of this more than 120-minute film. “I have never experienced anything like this, and I don’t think anyone has ever experienced what I have,” said Dakota Johnson. This project both terrified and excited me. But I don’t want anyone in my family to watch this movie.”
