Is This Harry Styles in ‘Dunkirk’? An Investigation
With Dunkirk hitting theaters this weekend, you’re probably well-aware that a certain mega-famous pop star has a role in Christopher Nolan’s World War II drama. Those unfamiliar have likely wondered, “Who the hell is this Harry Styles person?” But casting the former member of wildly popular British boy band One Direction has the potential to attract a different sort of army: Thousands of Harry Styles fans who may not have otherwise been interested in seeing a war movie from the guy who made those Batman films. Sounds sensible enough, and yet if your familiarity — like mine — with Harry Styles begins and ends with a vague awareness obtained from Twitter, you might have trouble spotting him in Dunkirk.
My knowledge of Harry Styles could be described as passing, at best. But even those who are slightly more familiar with the pop star (i.e. they could reasonably point him out in a lineup) won’t have an easy time figuring out who he’s playing in Dunkirk. (If you can draw his face from memory and/or know the lyrics at least one One Direction song, this obviously does not apply to you.)
General unfamiliarity aside, there are a couple of reasons why it’s so difficult to correctly identify Harry Styles: First of all, most of the actors in Nolan’s film look the same. That’s not a knock against Styles at all — it’s just that the majority of men in this movie are handsome and British and angular, made up almost entirely of cheekbones with dreamy eyes. Dunkirk definitely has A Type. The other thing is that Styles chopped off his famous hair, which is something I only know because I follow Teen Vogue on Facebook and they were absolutely shook about it.
So if you’re in the same boat as me (hopefully a boat manned by the unflappable Mark Rylance), you’ve probably (definitely) pointed at every guy in the Dunkirk trailers and asked, in a way that makes you empathize with your mother more than ever, “Is this Harry Styles?” This handy guide is my gift to you.
Is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
Um, which one? He could literally be any of these guys.
This. Is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
No, that’s just an extra who had ONE JOB and was really bad at it.
Okay, is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
Nope. This is actor Fionn Whitehead.
Is THIS Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
No, that’s Fionn’s white head.
Is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
Hard to tell. Maybe? Get me a cork board, 30 feet of yarn and a facial recognition specialist from Quantico and I’ll get back to you.
Is THIS Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
That’s a boat.
What about this? Is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
No. That’s Academy Award-winning character actor Mark Rylance. But he is known for disappearing into roles and Christopher Nolan did make Inception, so your confusion here is understandable.
So is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
¯_(ツ)_/¯
Is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk or nah?
Definitely nah.
Is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
BRAAAAAAAAM.
Is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
No again. That’s Kenneth Branagh. I’m surprised it’s taken him this long to show up in a Nolan film, tbh.
Okay, how about this then? Is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
That’s Bane.
Is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
That’s Anne Hathaway in Interstellar.
Wait, is this Harry Styles in Dunkirk?
You know, maybe? He’s definitely not the guy on the left.
IS THIS HARRY STYLES IN DUNKIRK?!
No — wait! Yes. YES. That is Harry Styles in Dunkirk. Good job, everyone.