A critic has claimed that Jamie Dornan 'emailed' him to hit back at comments made on his Northern Irish accent.
Last year, Kevin Maher reviewed the movie Nowhere Special, which Dornan didn't actually feature in - and critiqued the actor's accent.
In the review, Maher said the star of the film, London man James Norton, produced a "more convincing" Belfast accent than Dornan "can manage in real life".
Maher explained: "You see, to my super-sensitised ears, his soft Belfast tones (he grew up there) have just a hint of an Americanised flattening, the kind of accent alteration that you get from years spent as a globally recognised media figure.
"In his case, first for modelling and then for performing in mega-hits such as the successful and loudly derided — often by yours truly — Fifty Shades franchise.
"Most people would not hear the accent shift, but I do.
"And I pointed it out, earlier this year, rather pleased with myself, in a review of the movie Nowhere Special . Dornan wasn’t even in that one, but I noted wryly that the film’s star James Norton, a Rada-trained and Ampleforth-educated London posho, produced a “more convincing” Belfast accent therein than that which (derisive epithet alert) “ Fifty Shades star” Jamie Dornan can manage in real life. Big mistake."
That same day, the movie critic claims he received an email from Dornan who expressed his annoyance for being "slammed in a review of a film in which he didn’t even feature".
Maher admitted that he did not believe at first that the email was actually from Dornan and replied using quotation marks around his name - but says the Holywood man then messaged him on Instagram 'as proof'.
Maher said: "Dornan replied that it was indeed him... and that even with the accent explanation considered he couldn’t help but detect a certain sneering tone in my allusion (which was fair enough — the Fifty Shades movies really don’t do it for me).
"He ended magnanimously, though, with a conciliatory note, by mentioning my dogs
"I was taken aback. In a world of rigorously policed Hollywood branding, I was struck by the authenticity involved in Dornan’s act of simple, direct contact....
"He replied that we should meet up some day. I replied that I could think of nothing better."
Maher now says that his appreciation of all things Jamie Dornan has grown to such an extent that he will now "defend him till the end against anyone who dares to traduce his choices, his previous movie roles and certainly his accent."
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