Jamie Dornan says Outback shoot for crime show The Tourist was 'not a fun day at the office'

Jamie Dornan plays a man who wakes up in an Australian hospital with amnesia following an attempt on his life in The Tourist series premiering March 3 on HBO Max.

"So we meet this guy, whose literally known as The Man, he looks pretty pleased with life, driving through the Outback, he's singing along to Kim Carnes, and he's in a happy place," says the Northern Irish actor. "He gets into a big chase with a truck, the truck hits him off the road, he has a bad accident, he wakes up in the hospital with no memory of why he's in Australia, or why anyone was trying to kill him. He spends six pretty insane hours [of TV] trying to piece together who this guy is and some really colorful and unique and obscure characters help him fill in some gaps."

One of those characters is played by Australian actress Danielle Macdonald (Patti Cake$), who portrays a local, inexperienced, cop named Helen Chambers.

"It's a wild ride," says Macdonald of the show. "Helen is very much the grounding point of the series in my opinion. She's the one character you can trust, so she's the one character that the audience can always feel like, okay, I know where I'm at in this story, even though there are so many weird twists and turns."

The show was shot in the often testing environs of the actual Australian Outback.

"It was tough, I'm going to be honest," says Dornan, whose other credits include the Fifty Shades films and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. "It was as tough a filming environment as I've ever been in. The Outback is no joke. We're miles from proper civilization as we've come to know it. There's dust storms you're having to pause for a lot, the flies are relentless, it's not an easy, fun day at the office. But I think that's galvanizing, I think that's bonding. I made brilliant friends with the whole crew as a result of those conditions and being out there together. But, yeah, it wasn't the easiest job I've ever done."

Even the Australian Macdonald found the conditions in the Outback to be tough.

"I grew up in the city, I grew up surrounded by water and trees," she says. "So it's very very different for me. It's really quite a magical place. The sunrises are completely unreal, the moon rising looks like you could just reach out and touch it, and the stars are absolutely insane. It really is such a magical place, but the elements definitely are a lot tougher. There were sandstorms that would rage through quickly. The flies. The flies are very real out there."

So did Macdonald introduce her costar to any Aussie customs?

"He fell in love with Shapes, these little biscuits that we have," she says. "They're not cookies, they're savory. So they're kind of like crackers, I guess. He was obsessed with them and I remember on his birthday we went and got him a bunch of the Shapes that he liked."

For his role as The Man, Dornan sported short hair and a lush beard, a look he has since abandoned, but now misses.

"I saw an image from The Tourist the other day and I went, hmm, I want to grow my beard back," he says. "But I don't think they're letting me for my next job, so it will be a while before you see me like that again."

All six episodes of The Tourist premiere on HBO Max March 3. Watch the show's trailer below.

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