Olivia Wilde Says Harry Styles ‘Gobsmacked’ Everyone While Filming ‘Don’t Worry Darling’: He Was a ‘Wild Animal’
Harry Styles might be best known for his flourishing solo singing career, but his talent as a performer has never been limited to holding a microphone. The 28-year-old has also acted in plays and other productions since childhood. These days, Styles is making waves as a bona fide actor.
The former One Direction star will star alongside Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, and Nick Kroll in Don’t Worry Darling, a psychological thriller directed by Olivia Wilde.
Wilde, now Styles’ partner after meeting on set, also has a small role in the film. While she might be enamored with Styles personally, she also says he commanded the cameras in a primal, undeniable way while filming.
Olivia Wilde appreciated Harry Styles’ ‘brand of confidence’ when casting him in ‘Don’t Worry Darling’
Don’t Worry Darling is set in the fictional American town of Victory, where the men go to work and don’t tell their wives what they do. What begins as an idyllic setting soon turns sinister when Alice (Pugh) starts to feel something is amiss with this picture-perfect scene. However, her husband Jack (Styles), is still trying desperately to earn the approval of his new boss Frank (Pine). He dismisses her worries.
This is Wilde’s second directorial project, following the wildly successful Booksmart. As the 38-year-old was planning Don’t Worry Darling, Styles’ supporting role in the World War II film Dunkirk snagged her attention.
“To me, he’s very modern,” said Wilde of Styles, per People, “and I hope that this brand of confidence as a male that Harry has — truly devoid of any traces of toxic masculinity — is indicative of his generation and therefore the future of the world.”
Styles was interested in the part but was originally planning to be on tour for most of 2020 when the movie was scheduled to shoot. Shia LaBeouf won the role, only to be booted by Wilde.
In an interview with Variety, Wilde said LaBeouf’s “combative energy” wasn’t conducive to the atmosphere she looked to create while on set. (LaBeouf has since denied he was fired.) With the pandemic in full swing and stadium concerts out of the question, Styles accepted the part of Jack instead.
Harry Styles stole one particular scene from Chris Pine
Wilde is clearly a big fan of Styles. The two have been photographed as a couple since early 2021. But her admiration for the musician started with his talent in Don’t Worry Darling. She’s praised his acting chops since their time together on set.
“He didn’t have to join our circus, but he jumped on board with humility and grace, and blew us away every day with his talent, warmth, and ability to drive backwards,” Wilde wrote in one effusive Instagram post after filming wrapped.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Wilde described one particular scene that “left us all in tears.” In it, Styles’ Jack is getting promoted and on a stage with Frank (Pine), when the two start to chant a creepy slogan: “Whose world is it? Ours!” repeatedly. Though Wilde said the scene is meant to be disturbing, Styles took it to a more intense level than any of the group had been expecting.
Pine, despite his veteran acting chops (or perhaps because of them), yielded the scene to Styles, Wilde told the publication. “The camera operator followed him as he paced around the stage like a kind of wild animal,” Wilde recounted. “We were all gobsmacked at the monitor. I think even Harry was surprised by it. Those are the best moments for an actor — when you’re completely outside your body.”
Styles will also star in ‘My Policeman,’ which premieres October 21
Styles might be impressive thus far in his acting career — he and Pugh are both getting some early awards season buzz for their roles in Don’t Worry Darling — but he’s notes that it can be difficult to know how the audience will respond. It’s a different dynamic than what he’s used to in his singing performances.
“In music, there’s such an immediate response to what you do. You finish a song and people clap,” the “Watermelon Sugar” singer told Rolling Stone. “When you’re filming and they say ‘cut,’ there’s maybe part of you that expects everyone to start clapping, [but] they don’t. Everyone, obviously, goes back to doing their jobs, and you’re like, ‘Oh, sh*t, was it that bad?’ ”
That said, Styles has had plenty of time to get used to the lack of an immediate feedback loop recently. Aside from Don’t Worry Darling, the burgeoning actor had a brief cameo at the end of Marvel’s Eternals, where he played Thanos’ playboy brother, Eros. (Marvel Cinematic Universe boss Kevin Feige has teased more is to come from Styles, but there are no official plans yet.)
Styles will also be the lead in My Policeman, a film about a closeted gay police officer set in 1950s Britain when homosexuality was illegal. Styles stars opposite Emma Corrin (of The Crown fame) and David Dawson in the Amazon Prime movie, set for release October 21.
