Jamie Dornan: 15 Things You Need to Know About the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Star

Playing Christian Grey in Universal's "Fifty Shades of Grey" has been a life-altering experience for Northern Ireland-born actor Jamie Dornan, 32 -- and one that's sure to make him a household name. But there's much more to the man behind the bad-boy billionaire than this role. In honor of the film release on Feb. 13, 2015, here are 15 things everyone should know about the burgeoning movie star. Keep clicking ...

15. He feels "uncomfortable" without a beard. Jamie Dornan is rarely without facial hair these days, much to our dismay. He says it's because he still sees himself as a skinny, baby-faced boy. "I feel uncomfortable without it," he told the Guardian. "I find myself moving differently. I don't like myself without a beard."

14. He first found fame as a model. Jamie Dornan made jaws drop with his underwear campaigns for Calvin Klein (Justin Bieber might want to take notes) and The New York Times even dubbed him "The Golden Torso," a nickname he finds hilarious. "What does that mean? Is it a color reference? I think it is meant to be a compliment. I hope it is," he told the Telegraph, adding that the thing he remembers most about those shoots was "a lot of people rubbing me down with dark, oily tanning stuff -- I mean, I'm a white Irish guy, it was a problem."

13. He used to date Keira Knightley. Jamie Dornan and his first famous love split in 2005 after two years together. When British media asked Keira (here with Jamie in 2004) what she thought about her ex being cast as Christian Grey, she giggled and gave him her support. "Well, he's a very good-looking boy," she said. "I'm sure the girls will love him."

12. Sorry, folks, he's taken. Jamie Dornan married actress and singer Amelia Warner in April 2013 and they welcomed a daughter, whose name he's declined to share, in late 2013 -- three days before "Fifty Shades of Grey" started filming. "She's dream stuff. It's amazing," Jamie told British Vogue of his wife. Amelia once had a high-profile romance with another Irish star, Colin Farrell. Though they had a wedding ceremony in Tahiti in 2001, she later revealed it wasn't legal.

11. The extreme character of Christian Grey is far from his most intense role. "Becoming a dad is the best thing that ever happened to me -- to us -- and it's an extremely joyful situation," Jamie Dornan told Ireland's Independent newspaper in early February 2015. "Every day seems to get better and I know it's the most important role in my life. It's an intense role." He also told Glamour that he and wife Amelia Warner, who welcomed their daughter in late 2013, "want more babies.

10. His dad is a well-respected obstetrician and gynecologist in Belfast. Jamie Dornan's father, Dr. Jim Dornan, has delivered more than 6,000 babies in addition to being a university professor, women's rights advocate and author of the 2013 book "An Everyday Miracle." He's also a cancer survivor: Jim is now in remission after being diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2005. Sadly, Jamie's mom Lorna, a nurse, died in 1998 after a battle with pancreatic cancer when he was just 16. "There's no easy time to lose a parent," Jamie told The Telegraph. "It was a horrific period in my life."

9. He got his big break in a period piece. Jamie Dornan's first professional acting gig came courtesy of director Sofia Coppola, who cast him as one of Marie Antoinette's bewigged lovers in her 2006 film starring Kirsten Dunst as the controversial Queen of France. Jamie (seen here at the film's premiere) acknowledges that it took a few years for his career to blossom, thanks to roles as Sheriff Graham and The Huntsman in ABC's "Once Upon a Time" followed by his critically lauded turn as a serial killer in the BBC crime drama "The Fall."

8. He only had four weeks to prepare his body for those "FSOG" sex scenes. "I think I am like anyone -- I have massive hang-ups about my physical appearance,"Jamie Dornan (seen here on a Miami beach in 2013) admitted to Ireland's Independent. Though he modeled in his 20s and played sports including rugby growing up, he says he was always scrawny. "Now," he explained, "I have the same insecurities when I was a kid and when I see an image of myself, all I see is this skinny kid and I don't like it. I only had four weeks to work out for this role. I would have liked more time. But like I said, I don't think I am ever going to be happy with how I look."

7. He's obsessed with comedian Don Rickles. Jamie Dornan admits he had one of his best birthdays ever when his wife surprised him with tickets to see the comedy legend perform in Atlantic City a few years ago. "It was unbelievable," Jamie told Jimmy Fallon during a Feb. 9 visit to "The Tonight Show." "He's the only person I've ever done this for: I got my people to call his people and get an autographed [photo] personalized to me." Now that photo is hanging above Jamie's bathtub at home in London.

6. He sings and plays guitar. In fact, Jamie Dornan was even in a band, a folk-influenced act called Sons of Jim. "I am such a fan of music and I love it so much, but being in a band takes up so much time and energy and you have to be wholly committed. I didn't feel we were that good as a band and that is not a good energy to have," he told Ireland's Independent.

5. Eddie Redmayne and Andrew Garfield used to be his roommates. "We all met at auditions," Jamie Dornan told Variety. Back in those early days when all three were struggling actors, "We used to go to the Standard Hotel in West Hollywood and split a sandwich between us because that meant we could get cheaper parking," he added. They remained close as their careers exploded. "Redmayne," Jamie explained, "is the social glue that binds us all together.

4. Though he doesn't get completely naked in "Fifty Shades," Jamie Dornan has posed nude before. Those photos (shot by Mert & Marcus in 2007) made their way into a 2014 issue of Interview magazine, but Jamie says he was not prepared to go full-frontal in "FSOG" (even though his co-star Dakota Johnson did). "There were contracts in place that said that viewers wouldn't be seeing my, um ... yeah, my todger," he told The Guardian with a laugh. Instead, he wore what's called a modesty pouch. "There's no back. It's tiny," he told Variety before quickly correcting himself. "I mean, it's not tiny! Because it's got to hold a lot." Ha!

3. He's insecure about something most of us take for granted. "I've always had a complex with the way I walk," Jamie Dornan admitted of his "quite bouncy" gait during a 2014 appearance on Graham Norton's U.K. talk show. "I have quite pronounced calf muscles [and] I always thought it was a hereditary thing," Jamie explained -- until a friend set him straight. "He said, 'You know why you have big calves? It's because you walk on your tip toes.'" At his wife's suggestion, Jamie tried leaning back when he walked; it didn't help. Then he took dancing lessons for his role in "FSOG" and his instructor told him to focus on a heel-to-toe movement. "No one ever told me that!" Jamie said with a laugh. "I was always toe-to-more-toe! Now I just apply that every day."

2. He's not going anywhere. Jamie Dornan has already made two more films since completing "Fifty Shades of Grey," and we're eagerly anticipating their release dates. He stars as a doctor in "The 9th Life of Louis Drax," which he shot in late 2014, and has also wrapped a co-starring role opposite Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller in the Weinstein Company's untitled John Wells movie about a chef preparing to open a new restaurant

1. He's a gentleman. Jamie Dornan felt protective of co-star Dakota Johnson while shooting their intimate"FSOG" sex scenes. "Some of the Red Room stuff was uncomfortable," he told Glamour, making it clear the BDSM lifestyle his character embraces is not his own personal cup of tea. "There were times when Dakota was not wearing much, and I had to do stuff to her that I'd never choose to do to a woman." Added Dakota: "It's stressful enough to be tied to a bed, naked, in a scene. But then they call 'cut' and you're still tied to the bed, naked. Jamie would be the first one to throw a blanket over me."