All's fair in love and war: Fifty Shades Of Grey's Jamie Dornan changes gears as he steps away from steamy love scenes to head to battle in new movie

By Ryan Smith

As Christian Grey, he's poised to set screens sizzling when his hotly-anticipated erotic film Fifty Shades of Grey hits screens next year.

But with filming complete on the project, Jamie Dornan has his sights set on a more gritty movie.

The Northern Irish actor has signed up for a role in thriller The Siege of Jadotville, which centres around the siege of 150 UN Irish troops led by Commandant Pat Quinlan in the Congo in 1961.

Scroll down for video

Switching gears: Jamie Dornan has signed up to star in upcoming war movie The Siege of Jadotville

Switching gears: Jamie Dornan has signed up to star in upcoming war movie The Siege of Jadotville

The siege took place after the pro-Western leader Moise Tshombe took control of the Katanga region and killed the Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba.

Jamie, 32, will plan the Commandant whose men held out against a force of 3,000 local troops led by French and Belgian Mercenaries working for the mining companies.

 

Jamie said in a statement: 'I can't wait to get stuck into Jadotville. It's an unbelievable story and Commandant Pat Quinlan is going to be a treat of a character to tackle.'

In character: Jamie as Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey, with co-star Dakota Johnson

In character: Jamie as Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey, with co-star Dakota Johnson

The film, which will mark a feature-directing debut for Richie Smyth, is set to begin shooting in the spring of 2015 in Ireland and South Africa.

Movie bosses are holding out until the spring to give Jamie time to complete promotional duties for Fifty Shades Of Grey, which is scheduled to be released on Valentine's Day.

While his screen career appears to be soaring, former model Jamie is very much the family man at home, married to actress Amelia Warner, with whom he has an eight-month-old daughter.

Shirtless: The Northern Irish model-turned-actor flashes his taut torso in Fifty Shades of Grey

Shirtless: The Northern Irish model-turned-actor flashes his taut torso in Fifty Shades of Grey

Sizzling: Jamie and Dakota steam up screens in the trailer for their hotly-anticipated movie

Sizzling: Jamie and Dakota steam up screens in the trailer for their hotly-anticipated movie

Steamy: The stars are expected to spend much of their Fifty Shades screen time performing in love scenes

Steamy: The stars are expected to spend much of their Fifty Shades screen time performing in love scenes

A trailer was recently released for Fifty Shades Of Grey, which is based the popular erotic romance novel of the same name, by E.L. James.

Jamie shares an array of erotic scenes with actress Dakota Johnson, who plays his lover Anastasia Steele.

According to recent reports, Jamie has already begun talks to star in a sequel to the yet-to-be-released film.

Family man: Jamie with his actress wife Amelia Warner and their eight-month-old daughter

Family man: Jamie with his actress wife Amelia Warner and their eight-month-old daughter

Model behaviour: Jamie shows off his good looks in his heyday as a model for Calvin Klein Jeans

Model behaviour: Jamie shows off his good looks in his heyday as a model for Calvin Klein Jeans

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now