Harry Styles in Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed WWII epic, Dunkirk
HE MAY be one of the hottest pop stars on the planet, but Harry Styles had to get down and dirty like everyone else on the set of Christopher Nolan’s WWII epic Dunkirk
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YOU wouldn’t expect to find a star like Harry Styles lying in a trench on a wind-battered coastline in France for hours on end.
No one in their right mind would want to feel the sting of the sand burn their cheeks for days at a time, but Styles — a man whose star-power would allow him to pick any project he wished — was determined to begin his acting career with a truly challenging role.
For Styles, there would be few Hollywood roles more fitting than depicting a soldier in Christopher Nolan’s WWII epic, Dunkirk, the true tale of the epic evacuation of surrounded Allied troops from the French beach of the same name.
The operation, during which civilian boats sent from England rescued 300,000 troops from certain capture or death at the hands of the Nazis, has come to be regarded as one of the most extraordinay triumphs in military history.
Sitting down with News Corp Australia in London, Styles says he left the set each day scrubbing sand out of his hair and fending off frostbite on his toes.
Styles laughs as he explains how the cast was made to shiver in trenches on the beach while Nolan — a notorious perfectionist — worked to achieve the optimal scene.
“I’m a big fan of Chris’s films and as soon as I heard about the film I knew I wanted to be involved,” he says.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience but it was a challenge, I think it was a challenge for all of us physically.
“You can’t imagine being in the position that those soldiers were in at the time but, we definitely had to act cold. It was as real as someone could make it.
“That is what makes Chris so amazing. He wants it to be very natural and he wanted to make it real. He made things blow up around us so we would give very natural reactions.”
The One Direction singer, who has performed on stage in front of hundreds and thousands of screaming fans admitted to feeling “intimidated” by the size of the project at first glance.
“The initial feeling I had was that the scale of what we came into was so much bigger than expected,” Styles says. “It was super intimidating. But when you started seeing how much they develop the characters around the set you start to relax.
“Chris is amazing at making you feel comfortable on set and there is no special treatment for any of the actors.
“I don’t think he compromises in terms of only having one chance to film things like a plane overhead. He takes his time and gets it right which takes the pressure off us.”
Nolan certainly didn’t give Styles any special treatment.
The famed director sheepishly admitted to not knowing who Styles was during casting.
“I don’t think I was that aware really of how famous Harry was,” Nolan said recently.
“I mean, my daughter had talked about him. My kids talked about him, but I wasn’t really that aware of it.”
Nolan said the singer simply auditioned and scored the role.
It was clear Styles had developed a strong bond with the cast of up-and-coming stars who joined him on set.
For UK actors Tom Glynn-Carney, 22, Jack Lowden, 27, and Fionn Whitehead, 19, Dunkirk was by far the biggest credit to their names.
They look at ease sitting next to each other in a London hotel room and are happy to describe each other as “family”
Glynn-Carney — an exceptionally charismatic and well-spoken actor from Guildhall School of Music — is described as being a masterful singer and dancer.
Most of his acting credits to this point had been well-received stage productions.
Britain-born Glynn-Carney, who grew up hearing tales of Dunkirk at school, says the set was like walking through a documentary.
“It was really jaw-dropping seeing these huge monuments to the soldiers but as Harry said it was quite a close atmosphere that Chris created,” he says.
“You focus more on the scene and the interactions than dwelling on how big the project is.
“You would walk along the mole (where the ships docked) and have hundreds of these French extras dressed in battle gear and they were huddles in blankets smoking cigarettes and playing cards.
“It was like documentary footage and sometimes you would see 1500 extras in various stages of dress, some had full gear and some were just wearing vests and boxers and boots and looked really pissed off.
“We laughed at one guy who pulled out a container with a sausage in it and started cutting into it with a knife.
“Another extra turned to me and said ‘have you ever seen something so French’.
“It made us feel like we were really there.”
Scottish actor Jack Lowden plays RAF pilot Collin, working closely with Tom Hardy who also played a pilot.
For Lowden it was daunting coming to terms with the age of the characters they were portraying in the film.
“You gotta remember when it comes to the Second World War most people were not there because they wanted to,” he says. “They were not professional soldiers and they gave up the best years of their life to fight in this war. Some of these boys came from the country and all of the sudden they are in a strange beach in France.
“I played an RAF pilot and even though they were paid a bit more and had a bit more training they were still incredibly young and had no experience compared to the Germans who had already been fighting in Spain.
“I didn’t know much about Dunkirk before filming and I learnt a lot of this on the set.
“From what I can tell it was of the biggest defeats in British history which must have been very humbling for those at the top making decisions.”
The young actors have received praised by critics for their performances which is an accomplishment when flanked by a cast including Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh and Tom Hardy.
Styles, whose solo album went to No. 1 in 55 countries earlier this year and will visit Australia twice in the next 12 months for shows, says he already looking for a fresh project.
“It has been an incredible experience so now I’ll have a look, where to go next,” he says.
Originally published as Harry Styles in Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed WWII epic, Dunkirk
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