Jamie Dornan Reveals How He Prepared To Film The Tourist - Exclusive

When Jamie Dornan was gearing up to film his new series "The Tourist," he was presented with a unique opportunity. In the show, Dornan plays a character with amnesia who is stranded in the Australian outback. Viewers are unsure of who he is because the character — known only as The Man — has no idea who he is or where he came from. He cannot recall what brought him to Australia in the first place, nor can he remember the car accident that landed him in the hospital with amnesia (via Comicbook).

The ensuing storyline is a thrilling exploration of The Man and his mysterious backstory. During an exclusive interview with The List, Dornan was asked about the process of filming "The Tourist" and how it differed from other roles he played in the past. The 39-year-old actor revealed that it was a challenge to play a character who didn't know what was going on during the first few episodes of the series. Dornan himself obviously knew what was coming, as he had read the script in advance and knew how the storyline played out. So, how did he disconnect from that existing knowledge to get into the headspace needed to play his character?

Jamie Dornan revealed to The List how he prepared to film this exciting new role.

In Jamie Dornan's new series "The Tourist," he stars as the perplexing character known only as The Man. Starring opposite the equally talented Danielle Macdonald, Dornan delivers one of the best performances of his career. When talking to The List about what it was like to disconnect from what he already knew to get into the headspace of someone with amnesia, Dornan said the process was "crazy."

"It's the total opposite of how you work, usually," Dornan said. In lieu of completing his usual process, which involves collecting information and coming up with a backstory for his character to inhabit his role more easily, Dornan had to wipe the slate clean. "Suddenly, even though you know what's coming, you're like, 'Don't let that in. Don't let that in.' You have to make sure it is as sincere as possible that you're hearing this information for the first time," Dornan revealed.

He mentioned that it was a weird way to work, but that he loved the challenge. "It had a sort of purity to it that I managed to find with it, that I'd never really experienced before. But definitely a different way of working because it felt sincere," Dornan said.

Jamie Dornan has a depicted character experiencing memory loss in the past, but that process was different from the experience he had while filming "The Tourist." Previously, the Northern Irish actor played a character with amnesia on "The Fall," where he starred opposite Gillian Anderson. In "The Fall," Dornan played a serial killer named Paul Spector who claimed he had amnesia in the third series of the show (via Express). The problem, though, was that it was unclear to the other characters on the show (and to the audience at home) whether Spector was faking it or not.

"I've played a character with amnesia before, where you're questioning whether he is telling the truth or not, or he's manipulating the situation," Dornan explained to The List. "But this was very pure. I know that he [The Man] doesn't know who he is. I know that he is f****** terrified as a result of that. So, getting to play that was amazing for me," Dornan said.

"The Tourist" is streaming now on HBO Max.