'Christopher Nolan is scarier than Simon Cowell!' Harry Styles compares his film career to The X Factor as he reveals his nerves at making high-profile acting debut in Dunkirk
He's gone from the X Factor, to a boy band, to a solo career.
And now that Harry Styles has added 'actor' to his creative bow, he has been musing about the authoritative men in his life - his music boss Simon Cowell and the director of his debut movie Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan.
Asked whether the film’s director Nolan was more or less terrifying than Cowell, Harry told This Morning's Alison Hammond: 'I think Chris, in that he doesn’t say anything, like at all. He just kind of sits in the darkness at the back of the room.'
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!['Christopher Nolan is scarier than Simon Cowell!' Harry Styles has compared his film career to his music career... and revealed what it was like to act for such an iconic director in Dunkirk](http://web.archive.org./web/20171211201818/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/07/14/13/42546ABB00000578-0-image-a-132_1500033939903.jpg)
'Christopher Nolan is scarier than Simon Cowell!' Harry Styles has compared his film career to his music career... and revealed what it was like to act for such an iconic director in Dunkirk
![High praise: Asked whether the film’s director Nolan was more or less terrifying than Cowell, Harry told This Morning's Alison Hammond: 'I think Chris, in that he doesn’t say anything, like at all. He just kind of sits in the darkness at the back of the room'](http://web.archive.org./web/20171211201818/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/07/14/13/4254899F00000578-0-image-m-150_1500034349878.jpg)
High praise: Asked whether the film’s director Nolan was more or less terrifying than Cowell, Harry told This Morning's Alison Hammond: 'I think Chris, in that he doesn’t say anything, like at all. He just kind of sits in the darkness at the back of the room'
This admission comes after Nolan revealed he didn't understand the kind of fame that came with Harry, thanks to his legion of tittering fangirls.
'I don't think I was that aware of how famous Harry was,' he has explained separately, in another interview. 'I mean my daughter had talked about him, my kids talked about him but I wasn't really aware of it.'
He went on to praise the singer, saying: 'The truth is I cast Harry because he fit the part wonderfully and truly earned his seat at the table. What he does in the film is really remarkable.'
In Harry's This Morning interview, he was joined by co-star Sir Kenneth Branagh who echoed Nolan's sentiments.
![Prestigious cast: In Harry's This Morning interview, he was joined by co-star Sir Kenneth Branagh who echoed Nolan's sentiments](http://web.archive.org./web/20171211201818/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/07/14/13/42546AB600000578-0-image-a-133_1500033945101.jpg)
Prestigious cast: In Harry's This Morning interview, he was joined by co-star Sir Kenneth Branagh who echoed Nolan's sentiments
![Gushing: The love was truly being spread as Harry, 23, then said, to Kenneth - 'When you did your first take, I was just drawn in, he’s just magical. He’s magical'](http://web.archive.org./web/20171211201818/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/07/14/13/42546AAC00000578-0-image-a-134_1500033947634.jpg)
Gushing: The love was truly being spread as Harry, 23, then said, to Kenneth - 'When you did your first take, I was just drawn in, he’s just magical. He’s magical'
'I think he did an excellent job,' he said, before dwelling on his own admiration for director Nolan: 'He’s a master. Obsessive in all the best possible ways with this thing. Controlling the number of things that he had to, all the variables.'
The love was truly being spread as Harry, 23, then said, to Kenneth: 'When you did your first take, I was just drawn in, he’s just magical. He’s magical.'
Of being worried about his performance, Harry admitted: 'That’s probably the bit that surprised me the most - it’s so intense. You do the audition and go home and obsess over whether people liked you or not.'
Harry plays the role of Alex, a British soldier, in the historical drama alongside newcomer Fionn Whitehead and superstar Tom Hardy.
![Unaware: Christopher Nolan admitted he didn't realise how famous Harry Styles was before he cast him in Dunkirk (pictured with co-star Fionn Whitehead)](http://web.archive.org./web/20171211201818/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/07/09/22/422E31E600000578-4680222-image-a-94_1499635911443.jpg)
Unaware: Christopher Nolan admitted he didn't realise how famous Harry Styles was before he cast him in Dunkirk (pictured with co-star Fionn Whitehead)
![Hair today, gone tomorrow: Harry had to chop off his long mane for the role, given that he needed to accurately represent the style of the time](http://web.archive.org./web/20171211201818/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/07/14/13/422E2B7A00000578-0-Hair_today_gone_tomorrow_Harry_had_to_chop_off_his_long_mane_for-m-143_1500034073323.jpg)
![Hair today, gone tomorrow: Harry had to chop off his long mane for the role, given that he needed to accurately represent the style of the time](http://web.archive.org./web/20171211201818/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/07/14/13/422E31E200000578-0-Soldiering_on_Harry_will_play_the_role_of_Alex_a_British_soldier-a-144_1500034084317.jpg)
Hair today, gone tomorrow: Harry had to chop off his long mane for the role, given that he needed to accurately represent the style of the time
New to the craft, the Sign Of The Times singer spoke of how he learnt that taxing exhausting action sequences don't always make the final edit: 'We probably swam, filming for about four months, and there’s maybe three shots of me swimming, two of which are the back of my head. So I feel like it’s an unfair representation of how much I was swimming.'
He also had to chop off his long mane for the role, given that he needed to accurately represent the style of the time.
He said of this: 'I think I assumed I was going to need a little trim if I was doing this film. When I told my family I was going to be involved, they thought I was going to be a lady waving them off with my long hair.'
He also revealed that he gave his hair away, after cutting it off.
![Supporter: Harry admitted he was a big fan of the director and found it nerve-wracking being on set with him](http://web.archive.org./web/20171211201818/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/07/09/22/422E291000000578-4680222-image-a-98_1499635959158.jpg)
Supporter: Harry admitted he was a big fan of the director and found it nerve-wracking being on set with him
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