Jamie Dornan on real seduction and why he quit social media
He is hilarious company and very un-actory (makes my job easier); chatting with the model-actor feels more like catching up with your sweary Belfast pal. I mention in passing my aunt wrote the script for one of the first films he starred in ten years ago – an indie drama opposite Ophelia Lovibond, ‘Shadows in the Sun’ – “Ah wow,” he says wide-eyed. “Margaret! Lovely woman, send her my love will you…”
Today, we’re here to talk about BOSS The Scent, of which the actor is a global ambassador. “It’s like a proper everyday fragrance,” he says. “I think some fragrances can be quite overwhelming, or too bright and fruity. You know you sort of feel like you can only where them on a long, summer night but wouldn’t work for a sleety, November evening. But I think with this one is genuinely something that fits every occasion.” The HB campaign, directed by the acclaimed ‘Like Crazy’ filmmaker Drake Doremus, explores the concept of augmented sensuality and true romance in the social media age (see below). With that in mind, Dornan shares with HUNGER his thoughts on the digi-landscape – both past and present – from the lost art of seduction, why he’s happier operating an Instagram-free zone to the most appealing film universe…
On his early memories of fragrance…
“[I remember] all the kids in school wearing CK One. I’m talking young teen years – probably when you started experimenting with it you know. I think for a lot of guys you have the hand-me-downs. You start with Old Spice or Brut and all the stuff your dad was wearing. I still take comfort in those smells. You know you’d go into Boots and smell some Brut and there’s something surprisingly nice, golf-locker room about those smells. But I think it’s probably early teens when you’re lucky enough to get one in your Christmas stocking and then you got a good couple of years out of that in those days. I really like BOSS the Scent – which makes it easier to talk about! It’s like a proper everyday fragrance, [for] every occasion.”
On IRL vs URL seduction…
“In my own life I’m not on any social media and I’m married and about to have our third kid so I missed that whole thing of being seduced online [laughs]. I was already with my wife-to-be at that point. But it’s worked for a lot of people, I know loads…my wife’s best friend is married and [has] two kids from Tinder. So I think seduction now has changed and can present itself in so many different ways now. Whereas I’d still be quite old fashioned and need to see, touch, smell someone before for the real, full version of attraction.”
On what a perfect first date looks like…
“Obviously I’m never going to do this again and I was a terrible dater…Dating is really stressful. I’m delighted it’s behind me to be honest [laughs]. I had some absolute shockers in my past but I think the best thing to do is go bowling. I’ll tell you why… a) I think it’s a really fun way to spend an evening. You cannot hide who you are when you’re Ten-pin bowling – you’ll see how competitive someone is. How silly they are, how coordinated they are. I’m a very competitive person when it comes to sport so I probably pretend I’m taking it all on the chin if I’m not doing well but inside I’m on fire. But I think it’s a good ice-breaker-y thing rather than going out for a drink. If someone’s a fun person to be with that will come out by doing bowling or mini-golf. I think it’s better to do something. Having said that I didn’t do that very often, I’d just go get pissed with someone I didn’t know…”
On why he quit Instagram…
“I was at one point [on Instagram]. It wasn’t for very long. I don’t remember much about it, I wasn’t a prolific poster. I think in a year and a half I posted less than 10 times, I wasn’t Mr. Instagram. Why did I quit? Kids, first and foremost. You’ve got kids and these cherubic people want to have your time and your refreshing your posts to see what people are having for breakfast or how big there hotel room is or whatever nonsense people put on there. It’s not a good thing. Also, I’m a person who will have looked for ‘find all the negative shit in there.’ And there’s plenty of that because a lot of odd, aggressive, evil people on it.”
On the power vs. peril of social media for an actor in 2k18…
“Yeah, I think it benefits certain [people]…if you’re doing the sort of movies that Dwayne Johnson is doing – and I believe is a prolific Instagrammer – then I think it makes sense and he’s making these big budget, massive movies where they’re trying to garner loads of attention and make lots of money. They’re always quite fun, high-concept things. That all lends itself to a bit of hysteria online and I’m a big fan of his but I’d love to see him doing something where he’s sort of losing himself in it, like you don’t recognise him. But I think that’s tough if you’ve exposed yourself. I’m just using him as an example as he’s the only person I can think of. My idea is that it’s probably better to not know a great deal about these people you’re trying to believe are these other people.
I think [Instagram] can have power and I have respect for it to spread the word on great causes. It’s a fine line I think [though] because of the narcissism element, a lot of the time people are like ‘look how good I like, look how good I am at this.’ And then sometimes even with the charitable things I’m thinking people go ‘look how charitable I am, look at me – I care.’ It’s like fucking hell – you don’t have to. Go donate privately.”
On the future of the Internet…
“I’d love them [my children] to not be on social media, but they’re still so young. A part of me thinks that it may not exist [when they’re older]. Like, ‘do you remember Instagram, people used to photograph every fucking second of their day and share it.’ Or there may be a more aggressive version of it. The way technology is going there could be an even more instant way of sharing whatever, your new shoes…But potentially all of this could burst. Hopefully, we’ll look back and think ‘Instagram, what was that about?’ It’s taking away from real connection and sitting with people in a real place, that exists, that is tangible, with walls and you can fucking drink or play sport. That’s what we’re actually built on, not just tiny thumbs that move up or down.”
On what he’d like to see less of online…
“Advertising. If you’ve ever looked up wanting to buy a witches outfit for your daughters for Halloween and then every time I’m on my Sky Sports app there’s like a thousand adverts for broomsticks and shit. You know the way they monitor your searching or whatever, I find that very unnerving. The whole internet is built on advertising.”
On gaming culture…
“I had an Xbox – rugby games were massive for me at the time in the late 90s. Back in the day [it was] Mario Kart, obsessively. I’m now delighted that, so far, we’ve only got girls because they seem to be less into that stuff. I don’t want to lose my kids to computer games.”
On the #1 film universe he’d live in…
“Maybe The Wizard of Oz [laughs]. Surely I’d be the Straw Man. It just looks like a pretty cool world and I’d like to catch one of those flying monkeys.”
Jamie Dornan is a global ambassador for BOSS The Scent. The new BOSS The Scent Private Accord is priced £69.95 / 100ml for him (EDT) and £95.00/100ml for her (EDP). #BOSSTheScent #AugmentedSensuality. Available nationwide via Debenhams.com.
