Jamie Dornan says his father told him he was proud of him every day before his death after contracting coronavirus.
The Belfast-born actor said his father had always been supportive of his career choices and attributes much of his success to him.
Jim Dornan, a prominent obstetrician and gynaecologist, died during a routine knee operation after testing positive for the virus.
Speaking to The Times, Dornan (39) said it was “brutal” that his father could not have seen his latest film Belfast, which comes out in January.
“It’s been a brutal aspect of this whole journey. For my dad not to be able to see this movie hurts,” he said.
“I take comfort in the fact that he knows I did it. He was so invested in my career. Some people go their whole lives without being told, ‘You’ve made your parents proud’.
“My dad would tell me every day.”
On his decision to move to London to pursue his acting career, he added: “It was a gamble, but he let me take it.
“Few parents would go, ‘What is it you want to do? Move to London and try that out? Go for it’.
“Dad did — that’s the reason I’m sitting here now.”
Dornan’s mother died in 1998 from pancreatic cancer and he says his exposure to grief has helped him with his work.
“I have been subjected, early on in my life and now, to a lot of pain and loss. In a weird way I’m lucky to access that understanding [of grief] and use it for my work.
“It feels very timely and poignant that Belfast is the film I’m talking about now in light of everything that has happened. I feel very connected to my dad through this movie.”
