Jamie Dornan says he's "very close" pals with Dakota Johnson.

Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson

Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson

The 34-year-old actor - who is married to songwriter Amelia Warner - stars as hunky businessman Christian Grey in the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' film franchise alongside Dakota's Anastasia Steele, and insists the time they have spent together on set has made them "great friends" who have a "great sort of love" for one another.

He said: "I was only cast five weeks before we started filming the first movie, and that's when I met Dakota for the first time. [Now] it's been three years, [and] Dakota and I are very close.

"We've got a great sort of love and respect for each other. We're great friends and I think that makes it easier, you know? So it's definitely more comfortable."

And 27-year-old Dakota believes their close bond has helped them with their intimate on-screen romance, as she claims their sex scenes in the second instalment 'Fifty Shades Darker' were "definitely not as petrifying" as they were in the original 2015 movie.

Speaking to 'Entertainment Tonight' at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Fifty Shades Darker' on Thursday (02.02.17), she said: "[Filming the sex scenes] was definitely not as petrifying as the first time. It never gets [easy], but because we've become so close it was a lot easier to make [the scenes] special."