Although he’s playing a character that’s supposed to be highly sexual, Jamie Dornan said he had no idea how to approach the sex scenes in the up and coming film Fifty Shades of Grey.

So what did he do?

He got some advice from the pros by watching reruns of Sex and the City, and he said Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha all showed him how to do the deed on camera, without it looking overly fake or corny.

“Joe and I watched all the Sex and the City box sets. That helped,” said Dornan.

He watched the reruns with some cast mates from the show New World in the UK, which is the actors last TV gig since scoring the Fifty Shades role.

In addition, the 31-year-old said being able to do things like watch Sex and the City at work makes his job that much more enjoyable, and if he wasn’t able to blow off some steam on set, he wouldn’t be able to cope.

“We had a ball,” he said. “It was a good craic. Obviously, we’re getting the work done but you’re allowed to have fun at work. I’d stop if I wasn’t allowed to have fun.”

From 2003 to 2005 Dornan dated fellow actress Keira Knightley, and he said since she was so famous, it prepared him for all the craziness that Fifty Shades of Grey would bring him.

“It was a strange environment to find yourself in,” he said about dating Knightley. “Being hounded and followed. It’s really hideous. That scrutiny when you’re older will be easier to take, and I don’t think I’m ever going to be as famous as her.”

Plus, the actor said he never cared for modeling much, despite how successful he’s been at it.

“It’s never given me a thrill [but] it would take a very foolish man to turn down the stuff that was offered to me,” he admitted. “You’re in your twenties, and people are going to give you a silly amount of money to lean against a wall with your head down. F–k me, you’ve got to do it.”

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