One Directioners Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson deliver an electrifying performance. (Photo : Getty Images/Mat Hayward)
Many were surprised when it was announced that One Direction member Harry Styles would star in Christopher Nolan's highly awaited World War II epic "Dunkirk." The movie involves some of the biggest stars in the industry. Although Styles is a huge star in his own right, having a rookie actor appear alongside the big-name stars was a bold move to take. When asked why he decided to cast the singer, Nolan had a very profound answer.
"When we put the cast together, we had some established names," Nolan told LA Times, referring to Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy and Mark Rylance. "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."
Nolan revealed that Styles beat out thousands of young actors who vied for the role. After he was cast, Styles chopped off his long golden locks to comply with his role as a soldier.
But it wasn't just Nolan whom Styles impressed. According to The Independent, co-star Cillian Murphy praised him and said he a "great, great, great kid and really, really funny." Although the two stars only did a few scenes together, they hung out a couple of times.
Murphy added that he believes Styles will be "terrific in the role" and that he trusts Nolan's decision to enlist him for "Dunkirk."
"Dunkirk" tells the story of Operation Dynamo, a plan to rescue around 400,000 Allied troops who were surrounded by Nazi soldiers in Dunkirk, France during World War II.
Meanwhile, Styles officially made his debut as a solo artist with the release of his newest single "Sign of the Times." The song is Styles' first musical effort since Once Direction went on indefinite Hiatus. "Sign of the Times" is produced by Jeff Bhasker and Styles.
