“Hayes is his own character” — The Idea of You star Nicholas Galitzine shares he does not compare his character to Harry Styles

Actor Nicholas Galitzine recently spoke about the comparison drawn between his character Hayes from the latest movie, The Idea of You, and Harry Styles. In an interview with People magazine published on May 2, 2024, the actor stated:

"I like to distance myself from that comparison because I think Hayes is his own character and has his own struggles and wants and tastes, even in who he is as a musician."

In the movie, Hayes Campbell is the lead singer of a well-known boy band who is 24 years old. He falls in love with Anne Hathaway's character, who is a 40-year-old single mother. Following the release of the film, fans have started drawing parallels between Harry Styles and Campbell as they have reportedly seen many similarities between the two.

With reference to Styles' previous relationships, Buzzfeed had previously reported in March that Galitzine and the filmmakers "tried to create a character that felt akin to Harry," particularly "in a sense that he’s a younger man dating older women." Nevertheless, the actor pointed out that the inspiration did not turn into copying, during his recent interview with People.

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The Idea of You star Nicholas Galitzine opens up about his movie and character

Nicholas Galitzine's recent character has been inspired from Styles (Image via Instagram / @nicholasgalitzine / Facebook / Harry Styles)

People Magazine reported that there have long been whispers that The Idea of You book (2017), which serves as the basis for the new Prime Video movie, began as fanfiction featuring Harry Styles. The media outlet also stated that the scene where Hayes can be seen performing live with August Moon reminded fans of Styles' 2013 One Direction shows.

They share even more similarities in the movie, such as the character's teenage band audition, which is akin to Styles's X Factor audition, which eventually led to his big break with One Direction.

Nicholas Galitzine also partially agreed with the theory in his recent interview with the publication. He said that Styles serves as an inspiration to the character, not as a complete framework.

"We took tons of different references, I think the boy band as a whole was an amalgam of a lot of different artists and groups," Galitzine explained.

Moreover, this is not the only time Nicholas Galitzine has discussed the topic. In an interview with Marc Malkin at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party, published on March 11, 2024, he said:

“It’s funny because it’s not a comparison that I’ve ever made. But people really like to make it. Hayes Campbell, the man I’m playing, is a very different character and we want him to exist in his own world.”

On the other hand, the author of the novel, Lee, told Vogue in 2020 that the term "inspired" is powerful. However, she admitted that the "the seed was planted" for the book while she was doing research on One Direction in 2017 and discovered that Styles frequently dated older women.

Furthermore, director Michael Showalter disclosed to RadioTimes prior to the movie's premiere that the same strategy applied to the creation of the film version.

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Based on Robinne Lee's 2017 novel of the same name, The Idea of You stars Anne Hathaway as Solene, who takes her daughter to the Coachella Music Festival. After that, she falls in love with British singer Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine). Hayes is an international pop star who sings for a fictional boy band August Moon, which is very similar to One Direction.

The movie has already been released on 16 March 2024 and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.