Jamie Dornan Admits He Was “Quite Jealous” of Robert Pattinson in His Early Career: “Rob Was Going Places and We Weren’t”

Once upon a time, actors Jamie Dornan, Andrew Garfield, Eddie Redmayne and Robert Pattinson were up-and-comers running in the same circle. The impressive crew has since staked their claim on Hollywood, but Dornan recently gave us a glimpse on what it was like when he was first trying to make it in business.

“I’ve known Rob forever,” the 50 Shades of Grey star said in the latest edition of Wired‘s “Autocomplete Interview,” in which celebs respond to the top Google searches for their names. “He’s a really good friend. I love him. I think he’s one of the most investing, exciting actors around.”

Dornan added, “I probably at one point was quite jealous early on. We were all friends back in London and Rob was going places and we weren’t. I think he’s the nicest guy in the world.”

Pattinson became a certified heartthrob after he landed his career-defining role of Edward Cullen in Twilight in 2008. The franchise ran for five movies and concluded in 2012. Before joining the Cullen family, he played a memorable role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Now, the former teen heartthrob is playing Batman.

Dornan has previously said that Pattinson’s early success put him in a “different stratosphere” from their friend group.

“I think with Rob it’s always been like, he sort of had success earlier, so we were a bit like, ‘Does he really fit in with us?’ Because we were not working and he’s working all the time,” Dornan told Entertainment Tonight in 2022. “He did Twilight and was suddenly in a different stratosphere than us.”

Dornan’s career exploded when he was cast in the steamy 2015 film adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey, in which he played Christian Grey. He recently appeared in the Oscar-nominated movie Belfast, and is set to star opposite Gal Gadot in Heart of Stone.

Garfield joined Dornan during a 2021 appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden, where they looked back on when their friend group would travel to Los Angeles to audition for pilots together.

“We were the kind of guys who would go to the Standard Hotel on Sunset Boulevard to play ping-pong and order one cocktail between us because we couldn’t afford any more, and we would spend six or seven hours,” Garfield said.

Dornan confirmed the tale, saying, “But you had to order food or they would kick you out. So we’d order like, a burger and have like, a bite each.”

Dornan’s new film Heart of Stone premieres on Aug. 11 on Netflix.