Some Harry Styles Fans Want the Singer to Play Heath Ledger’s Character in a Remake of This Beloved Rom-Com Classic
Harry Styles has had quite the career trajectory so far. He received worldwide fame at only the age of 16 for appearing on The X-Factor and being a part of the mega-popular boy band, One Direction. Since then, he’s paved his own way even further by creating a pretty successful solo career. He’s dabbled in acting, but some fans now want to see him in a remake of a beloved ‘90s rom-com.
One fan posted a Harry Styles fan-cast on Tik Tok
On July 26, the Tik Tok user @agiantsos posted a video detailing a desire to see Harry Styles play Heath Ledger’s character, Patrick Verona, in a 10 Things I Hate About You remake.
“I usually hate remakes but the THINGs I would do to make this happen,” she wrote in her caption.
@agiantsos I usually hate remakes but the THINGs I would do to make this happen ##greenscreen ##heathledger ##fyp ##harrystyles ##1d ##film ##onedirection
♬ original sound – agiantsos
Basically she detailed how the movie is a classic movie that makes you want to watch it over and over again. And even though Ledger is perfect in the role, Styles would be the best choice to take on the character if they chose to ever remake the film.
And, of course, not just any Styles will do. But “long-haired Harry” would fit the bill. He does have a similar physicality and he has an accent (albeit a different one from the late-actor, Ledger).
“This would be life-changing,” the user said. She also pointed out how Styles would nail the musical number, of course. Which is, arguably, one of the best parts of the film.
The video has over 26,000 likes and 79,000 views. Other fans have also commented, sharing their agreement. One wrote, “I DIDNT REALIZE I NEEDED THIS IN MY LIFE TILL NOW.” And another wrote, “he’d be perfect because long-haired harry is both intimidating and soft,” which is literally the definition of the character of Patrick.
Ledger is the iconic Patrick Verona, but fans have seen the resemblance with Styles before
This isn’t the first time that fans have seen a likeness between Styles and Ledger. A Twitter user started a whole thread back in May that showed pictures of the two, side-by-side.
The problem with some remakes is that the creators want to re-do a movie, which can make a mess when something is as beloved as 10 Things I Hate About You. And when someone was as great in a role as Ledger was as Patrick, it could be tough.
“I had already looked at probably 250 guys, and I still wasn’t happy. I still hadn’t found that magic that I felt was out there,” director Gil Junger told HuffPost in 2019 for the film’s 20th anniversary. “And Heath walks in, and I thought to myself, ‘If this dude can read, I’m going to cast him.’”
Not to mention, the bleacher scene was just as great to film as it is to watch it back now. And it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing that scene quite like Ledger did.
“It would take an actor like Heath, who was fearless, to not be worried about how he was going to come off, not to worry that it was old-school,” Marguerite Pomerhn Derricks, the choreographer, said.
Director Christopher Nolan compared Styles to Ledger in the past
With that said, Styles would have big shoes to fill if this remake ever were to get made. Again, this is all just a fan-cast. It would be hard to win over hardcore fans, but Styles was sort of compared to Ledger in the past. Maybe he could pull it off.
“As a director, I have to trust my instincts, my ability to figure out who’s the right guy for the part,” director Christopher Nolan told Entertainment Tonight back in 2017, while doing press for Dunkirk. “I’m not too worried about baggage.”
He explained that he was “new to Harry,” even though he knew of him. But Styles’ audition for Dunkirk showed a “charismatic guy who clearly had a truthfulness and a subtlety in his ability to perform as a film actor,” Nolan said.
And in that way, Nolan compared that casting to when he picked Ledger as the Joker for The Dark Knight.
“When I cast Heath Ledger as the Joker, it raised a lot of eyebrows and caused a lot of comment,” Nolan said. “I have to trust my instincts, and Harry was perfect for this part.”
If this remake ever gets made, Styles might high on that audition list.
