Chris Pine Says Harry Styles Is an “Absolute Delight” in ‘Don’t Worry Darling’
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Harry Styles is heading back to the big screen.
The “Watermelon Sugar” singer has nabbed a role in the Olivia Wilde-helmed Don’t Worry Darling, alongside Florence Pugh and Chris Pine, Deadline reports. The former One Direction member replaces Shia LaBeouf, who had to exit the project due to scheduling conflicts. Wilde herself has a supporting role, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Details of the plot are still under wraps, but the film “is set in an isolated, utopian community in the 1950s California desert,” per Deadline. Screenwriter Katie Silberman, who penned Booksmart (Wilde’s directorial debut) and the Netflix rom-com Set It Up, wrote the screenplay. Production has already begun, but hit a temporary shutdown due to coronavirus.
Chris Pine has only praise for his costar Harry Styles.
While promoting Wonder Woman 1984, Chris Pine told Entertainment Tonight, “The aesthetic of the movie is beautiful. The story is so compelling and so fun and so dark and twisted … Shooting was wonderful. Olivia is very clear about what she wants.”
He was also quick to sing Harry Styles’s praises. Pine said, “Harry Styles is an absolute delight. He’s one of the most professional people I’ve ever met. Couldn’t be kinder, more gracious, I mean, really, I was stunned by this kid. He’s off-the-charts cool.” He continued, “It’s a great cast. You know, life is short, so hopefully you get a chance to make good art with people you really enjoy, and I’ve been really, really lucky in that regard.”
Director Wilde did a “victory dance” when Styles joined the film.
According to People, Wilde was overjoyed when she learned that Styles would be joining her movie. In a recent interview, the House star revealed, “I did a little victory dance when we heard that we officially had Harry in the film, because we knew that he has a real appreciation for fashion and style.” Wilde continued, “And this movie is incredibly stylistic. It’s very heightened and opulent, and I’m really grateful that he is so enthusiastic about that element of the process—some actors just don’t care.”
Styles and Pugh play a couple in a mysterious community.
According to Collider, Pugh plays an unhappy housewife who questions her sanity when strange things start happening in her community. Styles plays her doting husband who’s hiding a “dark secret.” Pine plays the revered leader of a mysterious, cult-like worksite. Johnson plays Pugh’s neighbor who exhibits “strange, paranoid behavior and tries to warn Pugh that everything in their community is not what it seems.”
KiKi Layne (The Old Guard, If Beale Street Could Talk) joins the cast for role previously held by Dakota Johnson, who exited due to scheduling conflicts, according to Deadline. Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians, Captain Marvel) were also added to the cast.
Production paused after someone tested positive for COVID-19.
Don’t Worry Darling is on hold after a member of the production tested positive for coronavirus, Deadline reported on November 4. The studio, New Line, confirmed the news and said the diagnosis became an occupational hazard, so filming was shut down immediately. Everyone on set isolated right away.
The person who contracted the virus “is not a member of the principal cast but someone who was in close enough proximity to them that the shut down was deemed necessary to find out if anyone else on the production has been exposed,” Deadline added.
So far, no one else on the film has tested positive. Production will be paused for 14 weeks, which is the recommended length of quarantine, per safety guidelines. The film was already a couple weeks into production when the temporary shutdown was put in place.
This isn’t Harry’s first movie.
Styles made his onscreen acting debut in Christopher Nolan’s war film Dunkirk in 2017. Styles, who starred as a young soldier, recalled being “nervous” for the gig, because it was “completely different” from performing in front of a stadium full of fans. “It was a lot of fun,” he told Today of the filmmaking experience. “It was one of the best experiences I think I’ve had.”
Aside from Don’t Worry Darling, the singer is also in talks to star in the film adaptation of My Policeman.
This is just one of Wilde’s upcoming films.
In addition to Don’t Worry Darling, Wilde has another major directing project ahead: helming a Marvel film. Last month, she confirmed she’s working with Sony to develop a film in the famous superhero universe with a lead female character. The story is rumored to center around Spider-Woman.
This story has been updated.
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