Nicholas Galitzine reveals he didn't use Harry Styles as inspiration while filming “The Idea of You”

"I think it's important to say that Hayes is his own person," the actor says of his fictional boy band singer.

One Direction fans, just stop your crying — while The Idea of You was partially inspired by Harry Styles, star Nicholas Galitzine did not base his performance as a British boy band member on the "Sign of the Times" singer.

In The Idea of You, Galitzine plays fictional August Moon frontman Hayes Campbell, but his profession, worldwide fame, posh accent, tattoos, and similar first name are all that connect him to Styles. The actor tells Entertainment Weekly that "there was no one in particular" that he tried to emulate with his portrayal, even though author Robinne Lee previously revealed that Styles was one of her main inspirations for the character.

"I think it's important to say that Hayes is his own person," Galitzine says. "He has his own style, his own sensibilities, his own taste in music, and I want Hayes very much to exist within his own world. When it came to the performance style, there were many different kind of references we used. But I was much more interested in Hayes the person — that was what I wanted to zero in on."

The Idea of You centers on Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who embarks on a second chance at love after an unlikely meet-cute at Coachella with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. While sparks immediately fly, Solène is at first wary of starting anything with a much younger guy whom paparazzi and screaming fans constantly follow around. But she ultimately leans in and enjoys a secret whirlwind romance with Hayes until their relationship gets exposed, the fantasy comes crashing down, and Solène is forced to face the reality that not all love stories get happy endings.

"I was fascinated by the idea of fame's effect on love and relationships," Galitzine says of why he wanted to portray the character. "But also in Hayes, I saw this incredibly textured young man who was in real need of connection and felt this strain with his own personal life and his family but found this kindred spirit in an unusual circumstance."

The sizzling chemistry and genuine love between Solène and Hayes drive the movie. Still, Hayes' identity as one of the most famous pop stars in the world is no small detail either, so Galitzine needed to do a lot of research to prepare to become him.

"We watched a lot of BTS, but we also went back to that golden era of boy bands, Backstreet Boys and everything," he reveals. "There were different references for different parts or facets of Hayes as a performer, but I just imagined someone who would've grown up under this incredibly claustrophobic lens, who was a deeply feeling and sensitive young man. And I imagined his ever-changing sense of identity being scrutinized by the public. I think that is very true for many people in the music industry and within the film industry, and I think actually all of that other stuff is a little superfluous."

He continues, "I'm really interested in who Hayes is as a person and how he relates to Solène, and that was my vehicle in. I think when it comes to a character like that, there was no need to necessarily reference anyone in particular."

When it was time to film all the August Moon performances in the movie, including their headlining Coachella set, world tour, and music videos, Galitzine started to feel the pressure.

"I lay awake at night, terrified, thinking about all the things that could possibly go wrong," he admits with a laugh. "We had a great choreographer in Dani Vitale and Savan Kotecha's this amazing songwriter who's in many ways the godfather of pop music from the last 20 years. With their stewardship, I was able to try and hone enough skills to convince people that I'd been a pop star for a few years. It was so incredibly daunting."

Galitzine also feels immense gratitude to his fellow August Moon members — professional dancers Viktor White, Dakota Adan, Raymond Cham, Jr., and Jaiden Anthony. "The wonderful boys, I have to mention, in my band, they really transmitted their experience and their energy as dancers," he says. "I really felt so accepted and supported whenever we had to do these super vulnerable scenes at Coachella and stuff like that. I'm very thankful for them as well."

In a little bit of art imitating life, when they were filming August Moon scenes, they actually started behaving like a real boy band and getting into shenanigans on set (sounds like another super famous British boy band ... but okay, the One Direction references stop here).

"We had Nerf wars," Galitzine says. "We had a Nerf gun war in the Loews Atlanta [hotel]. I was actually recovering from being quite sick, and a Nerf gun was placed outside my door. I knew in that moment I had to stand up for myself. I was challenged. But it was one of the many bonding experiences we did."

While Galitzine isn't quite ready to become a pop star in real life, he loved pretending to be one, especially while filming the scene where August Moon performs "Guard Down" on the Coachella main stage.

"I so remember watching documentaries of Freddie Mercury getting to run down that catwalk that goes into the audience, and there was a bit where I jump into the audience," Galitzine says. "And our supporting artists were incredible in the sense that they were pawing and grabbing shirts, and I was like, 'Wow, this not something I've ever experienced as Nick.'"

The Idea of You is now streaming on Prime Video.

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Related content:

• How Anne Hathaway used her experience with undeserved online hate for The Idea of You

• See Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine in seductive first look at The Idea of You

• The Idea of You review: Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine smolder in age-gap romance

• Anne Hathaway says her 'toxic identity' online cost her roles after Oscar win, until Christopher Nolan stepped in

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.