She was 24 and had a contract signed when everything changed.
Dakota Johnson recalled it on Amy Poehler’s podcast, Good Hang: she said she felt “legally trapped” in Fifty Shades of Grey. She had agreed to work with another actor and a script written by someone else, but the project ended up being very different. By the time she realized it, she was already contractually committed.
On top of that, there was the hardest part: the intimate scenes. Back then, intimacy coordinators didn’t exist to help set boundaries and make performers feel safe. “You were expected to just figure it out on your own, in real time, in front of everyone. It’s intense”, she said.
Even so, today she looks back with pride at having been brave. A confession that shows how much the conversation around actors’ boundaries has changed… and how many productions worked this way without anyone questioning it? 🎬
