He simply ‘had it’: Why Christopher Nolan cast Harry Styles for Dunkirk

Harry Styles has never been known for his acting skills, but that is all set to change this summer with the release of Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk. 

Given his lack of experience, it came as quite a surprise to all of us when the singer was cast in the much-anticipated film.

Speaking to The LA Times, Christopher defended his casting decision, saying that the One Direction star simply ‘had it’.

“When we put the cast together, we had some established names.”

He continued: “But for the guys on the beach, we really wanted young unknowns. He’s not that unknown, but he’d never done anything as an actor before. So he auditioned."

"I auditioned literally thousands of young men with different combinations of young men. And he had it.”

The 23-year-old said goodbye to his signature locks for the role and when asked if Harry was hesitant about getting his hair chopped, Chris replied “I don’t want to get into it.”

Which could either mean that the director didn’t want to waste time answering irrelevant questions or Harry had a major strop and Christopher is still sore about it?

The singer-turned-actor recently spoke about the experience with Dermot O’Leary on BBC Radio 2’s Saturday Breakfast.

“It was one of the best experiences of my life. Honestly it was amazing, it was a real challenge.''

He added: “I mean, I really loved being the new guy. I loved kind of being so far out of my comfort zone. It felt really good to kind of have no idea what I was doing for a little bit.”

Harry is in good company for his acting debut, joining a stellar cast of Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh and Cillian Murphy. 

Dunkirk is due to hit Irish cinemas on July 21.