Jamie Dornan on Stunt Work in ‘Heart of Stone’ & Bonding with Gal Gadot Over Daughters (Exclusive)

Jamie Dornan plays a spy in the new Netflix thriller “Heart of Stone,” which also stars Gal Gadot. The actor spoke with “Extra” prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike about keeping up with Gal’s stunt work and embracing his new decade while making the film.

“That was a big attraction for me,” Dornan said of getting physical in the movie. “And to try to keep up with the likes of Gal, who does it on this scale a lot. I enjoyed trying to keep up with that. And yeah, it’s something I sincerely find joy in. It’s hard work and stuff, but I don’t see it as a slog. I like the hard work that goes into it.”

He continued, “I’ve actually sort of weirdly played a spy before, but under very different circumstances, so I had done a bit of exploration into that world before. So, it was just sort of advancing on that and getting a sense of, ‘Why do you find yourself doing that? What kind of a person finds himself in that world?’ And with Parker, there was a lot of stuff that wasn’t on the page, as brilliant as Greg Rucka’s script was. Tom Harper, the director, and I did a lot of excess backstory into Parker and what it is that brought him to that point, and then what explains his actions in the film going forward. Because he goes on quite a journey in this film and quite a severe arc, so we try to implant what it is that makes him behave the way he does. But I had a lot of fun with that.”

In addition to stunt work, Dornan also bonded with Gal over their kids.

“Gal and I both have three daughters, one the same age,” he said. “She was just the best. She's so easy. She's so comfortable in this space. This is water off a duck's back for her to be in a movie of this scale, this size, and this attention, and this budget. She made me feel so comfortable the whole time, and her and Jaron [Varsano], her husband and producing partner, were just very easy, normal, down-to-earth people.”

The “Fifty Shades of Grey” star hit the big 4-0 while making the movie.

“I was very ready to embrace my 40s, quite excited. It was actually nice to be turning 40 and doing something so active and playing a character who was so physically able,” he told “Extra.”