Dakota Johnson on the ‘mayhem’ of filming ‘Fifty Shades’

By Marianne Garvey

“Fifty Shades of Grey” turned Dakota Johnson into a star.

Since 2015, she’s been a globally known actor, but now says the franchise she signed up for was not the one that was made.

“I’m a sexual person, and when I’m interested in something, I want to know so much about it,” Johnson tells Vanity Fair in a new cover story. “That’s why I did those big naked movies…I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making.”

Johnson adds that the studio and directors were part of the problem, and that the author of the “Fifty Shades” books, E.L. James, also became a problem on set.

“She had a lot of creative control, all day, every day, and she just demanded that certain things happen,” Johnson recalls. “There were parts of the books that just wouldn’t work in a movie, like the inner monologue, which was at times incredibly cheesy. It wouldn’t work to say out loud. It was always a battle. Always…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, and I’m proud of what we made ultimately and everything turns out the way it’s supposed to, but it was tricky.”

Even though there were problems, Johnson says she does not regret the role.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of regret. If I had known…” she says. “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.”

Johnson will next star in “Persuasion,” which will release first in theaters and then on Netflix.

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