Jamie Dornan almost played Nathan Drake in Uncharted

Jamie Dornan reveals he had a screen test for Uncharted’s Nathan Drake years before Tom Holland – and reveals how close he came to portraying the PlayStation icon.

"I remember I did a screen test for Uncharted years ago when they were going to make it with a different director," Dornan told the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

"It went well and there was a point where it looked like maybe I was doing it," Dornan revealed. "Then it all went quiet and went away – the director fell off."

Of course, the Uncharted movie eventually climbed out of development hell – with a certain Spider-Man actor playing Nathan Drake.

"When I heard they were going to make it again I was like, ‘Oh, great’ but you’re too old now. Tom Holland, who is half your age, is doing it," Dornan recalled.

It’s tricky to pinpoint exactly when Dornan would have done a screen test for Uncharted. Originally, Mark Wahlberg – who went on to play Sully in Uncharted – was touted for Nate. The likes of Shawn Levy, Dan Trachtenberg, and Travis Knight were all on the project at various points from 2015 onwards before Ruben Fleischer eventually joined as director in 2020.

Things turned out well for the treasure-hunting movie. Uncharted became one of the most successful video game movies of all time, grossing $400 million at the box office.

Dornan, meanwhile, is currently starring opposite Gal Gadot in Netflix action movie Heart of Stone. For more, check out our interview with Dornan, plus Gadot and Alia Bhatt talking about the movie’s emotional core.