He’s the dreamy Brit you all fell in love with in Red, White and Royal Blue, and now Nicholas Galitzine is playing leading man and love interest to Anne Hathway in the steamy movie adaptation of The Idea of You. It’s garnered a lot of hype thanks to the probability that his character, Hayes Campbell, is based on the one and only Harry Styles.
But Nicholas, who’s officially the internet’s current crush, makes the role of boybander his own. Here, he talks to marie claire Australia about sacrifice, fame and chemistry with co-star Anne Hathaway in The Idea of You.
Marie Claire: In your new film, The Idea of You, one of the main pressures on your relationship with Solène (played by Anne Hathaway) is navigating the tabloids and fans. How did your real- life experience with fame inform your portrayal of your character, boy-band lead singer Hayes?
Nicholas Galitzine: I think the ability to have resonance is an incredible thing. I don’t know what I believe spiritually, but one thing I do know is that the importance of the job that we do becomes more apparent when you meet [fans] who have been affected by your work in some way. With my character, Hayes, that feels much more intense in both a positive and a negative way. Musicians often don’t have the buffer of playing a character … [Whereas] Anne and I have our characters to soften the blow of the weight that fame carries.
Often musicians present their onstage persona as much closer to who they are as people. That was something for me with Hayes that I had to do a bit more research on and use less of my own personal experiences.
MC: There’s been a resurgence in the romantic comedy genre recently. Why do you think this is?
NG: There was this period of time where characters had to always wink to the camera to say, “Don’t worry, we’re in on the joke,” which was ridiculous. We all need to be loved and nourished, and even if the world feels kind of heightened, I think we’re all looking for that in our life. The thing that’s really brilliant about this movie is that we’re not doing winks at the camera; it’s all pure and genuine.
MC: Sacrifice is a huge theme in the film. What’s the biggest sacrifice you’ve had to make, be it for career or family or love?
NG: This job is so transient. It’s very rare that you’re filming in the same place consistently. The goal is to be able to cherry-pick your projects and have control of where you’re going to be. One thing I felt in the past year is that being able to spend time with loved ones is really difficult.
You kind of say goodbye to the girlfriend or friends or family and you don’t really quite know when your next gonna see them. You have to find a way for love to kind of cut through all of that.
MC: How was shooting the first kiss scene?
NG: That first kiss [with Solène] by the piano is incredibly intimate and sensual and it felt almost a bit [like a] dance. It’s a very impactful first kiss.
MC: What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
NG: That love is worth sacrifice and it endures. If you find someone who’s a kindred spirit, it’s a lot of hard work but you have to try to enjoy the weathers and winds of the world and society that we live in. Love is worth it. That’s quite a good tagline.
The Idea of You is streaming on Amazon Prime.
