Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson talk 'Fifty Shades' sex scenes

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson say filming sex scenes for Fifty Shades of Grey was a sometimes awkward experience.

The 32-year-old actor and 25-year-old actress discussed the movie for the March issue of Glamour magazine. Fifty Shades of Grey follows the relationship between college student Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, a businessman with a predilection for BDSM.

"Some of the Red Room stuff was uncomfortable," Dornan said of the character's infamous BDSM playroom. "There were times when Dakota was not wearing much, and I had to do stuff to her that I'd never choose to do to a woman."

"The scenes in the [Red Room] were definitely the most vulnerable scenes in the movie," Johnson agreed. "But it was a very closed set. My mom [Melanie Griffith] told me that it's my right to ask for that during intimate scenes, so it seemed like [we] were in this little world together."

Fifty Shades of Grey is based on the E.L. James erotic novel of the same name. The book is well known for its depiction of dominant-submissive encounters between Ana and Christian, but Johnson told Time shooting the scenes was far from sexual.

"Filming a sex scene is not a sensual or pleasurable environment," she said. "It's really hot -- not in a steamy, sexual way. It's just sweaty, and it's not very comfortable. And on top of that, my hands and legs were tied, and I was blindfolded, and I was being hit with this bizarre tool" for a scene.

Fifty Shades of Grey was directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, and opens in theaters Feb. 13. The film also features Eloise Mumford, Luke Grimes, Rita Ora and Marcia Gay Harden, and released a Super Bowl spot trailer Sunday.