The highly anticipated World War II survival epic Dunkirk is just under two weeks away from release, and the summer blockbuster has just had a press conference revealing some new information about the project.
For starters, musician Harry Styles discussed how he always wanted a role in the Christopher Nolan-directed film, stating that: “I think for me when I first heard, that Chris was making this film, I was kinda already excited to watch it. I think it’s something I’ve always been excited for had I had absolutely no involvement, and I think other than the urge to want to get involved in it and try to you know, try to do anything to be a part of it. I can’t say I really thought too much other than that about it. I think everyone… being on Chris’ set he’s so passionate about it and he’s so infectious. He creates this environment where everyone, cast, and crew there’s one focus, and it’s what’s doing the best for him and doing the best for the film and making it as good as it could possibly be, and I don’t think there’s any room to think about anything too personal other than that. I feel like everyone has the same goal just to do their part for the film really.”
Christopher Nolan was then asked if the presence of the popular boy band star would take over the experience, to which the director replied: “I mean, my job as a director is to see potential in within people you’ve cast whether you’re talking about someone’s who’s never done a film before like Fionn and Harry or whether you’re talking about someone who’s very experienced Mark Rylance or Kenneth Branagh. You have to see the potential for them to do something they’ve never done before. That’s really the idea. You try not to cast people who have done these roles because they won’t feel challenged. They won’t get anything out of the experience. You can’t worry too much about previous roles like Mark has done, you know and Harry… I think the audience when they come to the film, if we all do our job right, they’ll become invested in what we’ve created…”
It’s also worth pointing out that Harry wasn’t just handed the role for his fame, he actually earned it by auditioning.
“Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.”
Dunkirk is set for release on July 21st 2017 and features a cast that includes Nolan regulars Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy alongside Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, Jack Lowden, James D’Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Tom Glynn-Carney and newcomer Fionn Whitehead.
Originally published July 10, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
