Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson
Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson pose at the premiere of Fifty Shades Darker in Los AngelesReuters

The Fifty Shades franchise is known for the hot intimate scenes, but filming the sex scenes was not easy for the lead cast – Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. Dakota and Jamie followed a 'pre-game ritual' that helped them shoot the steamy scenes for upcoming erotic romantic drama film Fifty Shades Darker.

Also Read: Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan's Fifty Shades Darker has a lot of sexiness

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Dakota revealed that she took shots of whiskey that helped her shoot the intimate scene with co-star Jamie. The duo followed a 'pre-game ritual' that helped them shoot the scenes with ease.

"Shot of whiskey [and] mints," Johnson told Entertainment Tonight. "He does pushups and I just lay there and drink whiskey."

Further talking about their chemistry, Dakota said that she was a lot more comfortable because she and Dornan have "become close." "It never gets [easy], but because we've become so close it was a lot easier to make [the scenes} special," Dakota said.

Jamie agreed to her and said their friendship made it a bit easier for them to work together.

"I was only cast five weeks before we started filming the first movie, and that's when I met Dakota [Johnson] for the first time. [Now] it's been three years, [and] Dakota and I are very close," Jamie explained to Carly Steel of Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of Fifty Shades Darker on Thursday.

"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," he added.

Fifty Shades Darker is the second instalment in the Fifty Shades series. The film is set to release at the US-Canada box office on February 9. Directed by James Foley, the film also features Bella Heathcote, Eric Johnson, Kim Basinger, Luke Grimes, Eloise Mumford and others in supporting roles.