"Who’s gonna tell him"— Fans divided as Nicholas Galitzine asks not to compare his 'The Idea of You' character to Harry Styles

Actor Nicholas Galitzine has asked to maintain some distance between his character in The Idea of You and singer Harry Styles. The star discussed fans relating the two to British GQ in an interview published on Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

"I think it's very important that we don't draw too much of a comparison to him because (Styles) is a real person within both the music industry and the film industry. I think we need to normalize (keeping them separate) as opposed to drawing a direct parallel to someone who already exists," he said.

In The Idea of You, Nicholas Galitzine plays Hayes Campbell, a 24-year-old singer in a popular boy band, August Moon. The movie is centered around Solene, played by Anne Hathway, a 40-year-old single mom who falls in love with Campbell.

The film is based on Roninne Lee's 2017 book of the same name. Fans have frequently called the book (and the movie, by extension) "Harry Styles fan fiction," and Campbell's character shares many similarities with the former 1 Direction singer.

Nicholas Galitzine's request to not compare the two prompted divided reactions from fans. Some pointed out that the character, inspired by Styles and Galitzine's mannerisms in the movie, was bound to draw a parallel. Here are some comments seen under @PopCrave's post on X about the GQ interview:

"So who’s gonna tell him the movie is literally based on a Harry Styles fanfic," one responded.

"Babe i love u but you nailed his mannerisms and looks like... If we're keeping sh*t separate... let's start there," a fan posted.

"Girl you were playing a character based on Harry don’t try to wash your hands nicholas," one commented.

"Agree, but ppl are going draw comparisons bc it was based off a Harry Styles FANFIC…" wrote another.

Others remarked that a character, despite being inspired by a real person, is still a character.

"Fair point by Galitzine. Characters inspired by real peeps can get messy, especially when fans start blurring the lines. Props for keeping," one wrote.

"Why do fans seem to mistake fanFICTION for fan-made documentaries? It doesn't matter if it is based on a Harry Styles fanfic, you shouldn't draw real parallels with them, either— its psychologically wrong for you! A character is a character and a person is a person," @Deadhawk666 commented.

I have not read such beautifully articulated celeb responses in a long time. Way to go Nicholas!" wrote another.

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"I think Hayes is his own character"— Nicholas Galitzine on playing Hayes Campbell

When the trailers for The Idea of You dropped, fans quickly drew similarities between Nicholas Galitzine's Hayes Campbell and Harry Styles. These included both being British singers, Hayes auditioning for August Moon as a teenager, just like Harry auditioning for X Factor, and even Campbell trying to break out of his "boy band" image, very much like Styles's career after 1D.

Moreover, Nicholas Galitzine's character, including his styling, is similar to that of the Watermelon Sugar singer. Earlier this week, the actor told BuzzFeed:

"We tried to create a character that felt... akin to Harry... in a sense that he’s a younger man dating older women."

"It was important to create someone who felt new and original and not a shoddy impersonation of this person," he added.

In his May 2 exclusive with PEOPLE, Nicholas Galitzine reiterated:

"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 a December 2020 interview with Vogue, author Robinne Lee described him as a mix of "Prince Harry meets Harry (Styles)" with a little bit of her husband and Eddie Redmayne. She added that although Styles was her initial muse (referring to his past relationships with older women), the book was "never supposed to be a book about Harry Styles."

"It was supposed to be a story about a woman approaching 40 and reclaiming her s*xuality and rediscovering herself, just at the point that society traditionally writes women off as desirable and viable and whole."

In her May 3 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lee expressed her disappointment at the Harry Styles comparison, adding, "Harry was one of multiple people who went into creating Hayes Campbell."

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The Idea of You is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.