While Harry Styles is one of the biggest musicians in the world, he’s also been making a name for himself as an actor. On the 2022 movie schedule alone, he’s starred in two films, one of which is Amazon’s My Policeman which just came out. In the film, the “Adore You” singer plays a gay cop in the 1950s, when it was illegal to identify as gay. His character Tom is complex, and the director gushed over how Styles handled the role, and even said he was inspired by their first meeting.
Michael Grandage, the director of My Policeman, said he was surprised to get a call from Styles’ agent, saying he was interested in the role. He said he hadn’t even considered the pop star for the film, he told Deadline:
On this occasion from Harry’s team, they said we passed this script to him because he is looking for another movie, he really responded to the material.
He then went on to discuss just how impressed he was by Styles, who has only appeared in a handful of films including Don’t Worry Darling and Dunkirk, exclaiming:
It was a very inspiring meeting for me. You probably know but most of the time a director is in a room trying to convince an actor to be in a film. So, it was really interesting being in a room with somebody who had read the novel at least once, I could tell, read the screenplay multiple times, and was talking intelligently about what they wanted to bring to the role of Tom.
The director elaborated on Styles’ character Tom, saying the singer was drawn to the role because it would require him to play a complex character “who couldn’t really express their emotions.” Grandage continued saying the Dunkirk star was “intrigued” by playing the “inner life rather than an outer life.” He also explained that since the character is so guarded, the reason Marion and Patrick both fall in love with him is for his “beautiful and charismatic” looks, noting it was something Styles understood immediately.
The director is not the only person gushing over Styles’ performance and work ethic. His co-star David Dawson said filming the intimate scenes with the popstar was “special.” The actor said he had hoped when they filmed those parts his scene partner would be communicative and “void of ego.” Dawson then said, “I got all of that and more in Harry.” Along with his co-star and director, the former One Direction member’s performance is also being praised by critics and general viewers.
Along with Styles, the performances from the rest of the ensemble including Dawson, Emma Corrin and Rupert Everett have also been praised.
For more information about this film, you can check out CinemaBlend’s review of My Policeman. You can also watch the movie now with an Amazon Prime subscription.
