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The 28-year-old Grammy-winning pop and soft rock musician, Harry Styles, recently became involved in a mess of controversies after taking up a role in the Warner Bros. film,Don’t Worry Darling.His rise to global domination as a pop-culture icon was going great until he decided to delve deeper into the acting pool, after testing the waters withDunkirkandEternals.Now, Harry Styles’ role in the psychological thriller is not only marred by distasteful controversies but his otherwise charming on-screen presence is being called into question due to his overall performance.
Also read:“I don’t find it to be fulfilling”: Harry Styles Reveals He Might Not Return as Eros inEternals 2, Hints His Acting Career Might Be Over as He Focuses On His Musical Journey
Harry Styles and His Troubled Path TowardDWD
2022 has been the year ofHarry Styles. He performed for the twice sold-out America and Europe Love On Tour, headlined his first Coachella, released a new album, shattered about half-a-dozen records, launched his first business venture with Pleasing, starred in two films as the leading man, and got his banner raised at the Madison Square Garden — and it’s only September. But despite his numerous luminous conquests on the horizon, the young British pop star snagged when it came toDon’t Worry Darling.
Also read:“It must be nice”: Olivia Wilde Lashes Out at Negative Press SurroundingDon’t Worry Darling, Claims Male Directors Get Gentler Coverages Despite Drama
It was supposed to be a celebration of the power held on-screen by the world’s most famous man paired with the brilliantFlorence Pugh, surrounded by Hollywood A-listers, and being directed by the rising and visionary female director,Olivia Wilde. But then the film fell apart in a matter of weeks once the actors wrapped up and the deeply troubling promotion of the movie began.
The problem with the Warner Bros. film is multi-faceted. The crowd, whether they like it or not, has become aware of the back-to-back controversies surroundingDon’t Worry Darling.What started with an escalating drama from behind the scenes soon became the next subject to be picked apart and dissected by reviewers, critics, and the ever-awake internet. But even though debates and dissensions about Olivia Wilde’s alleged faux feminism now take the forefront of the social harangue, it also affects by proxy the lesser crime committed by Harry Styles with his shoddy acting.
Also read:“The double standards are outlandish”: Olivia Wilde Gets Rare Support From Fans Despite Troubled Production ofDon’t Worry Darling, Ask Why Jason Sudeikis Has HaltedTed LassoProduction For His Perfectionism
Harry Styles Becomes a Subject of Mass Criticism
The singer/actor’s presence in the Olivia Wilde-directed film should have been a passing blot on the paper. Instead, due to the obvious PR stunt that was the entirety of the film’s press tour, including the Styles-Wilde relationship,Shia LaBeoufcontroversy, Florence Pugh’s non-involvement, and the unnecessarily blown-up Spitgate incident, the popularity of the star-studded film became elevated manifold in the public eye.
Also read:“There was a lot to execute”: Florence Pugh Seemingly Lets Bygones Be Bygones as She ThanksDon’t Worry DarlingCrew For Making This Movie Happen
The increased popularity also meant hyped-up fan expectations which failed to be met when the film proved to be just another psychological thriller. But it gets complicated because the lesser experienced Harry Styles fails to keep up with the star-studded affair involving Florence Pugh,Chris Pine,Gemma Chan, and Olivia Wilde. His acting was passable and fails to make an impression. But considering that he performed noticeably in his short stint on Christopher Nolan’s set, perhaps the problem here could be accorded to the limited input from the director’s end for the rookie among all the other A-listers.
His accent, on the other hand, becomes a jargon of the American South and his native north England. It would have been an easier and smarter choice to rule his character, Jack Chambers, as an Englishman. As cited byThe Guardiancritic, Peter Bradshaw,“Styles may or may not be a talented actor; it’s hard to tell from this.”But Twitter has stronger opinions.
No cus half the crowd burst out laughing during this in the theatre i went to 😭
— cam (@milanszn)July 06, 2025
putting Florence Pugh and Harry Styles in the same movie was a mistake because her acting literally runs circles around him in every scene.
— ً (@HailEternal)July 26, 2025
hope harry styles uses this ticket money for acting lessons
— katie 🫧 (@katiebaileey)July 15, 2025
harry styles’ acting was so bad that even his fans misinterpreted his character’s action or plot.https://t.co/8Ic6VJMBaK
— o’brien (@deeplyfrost)August 19, 2025
believe it or not, this wasn’t Florence Pugh acting, this was her real reaction at Harry Styles “acting”pic.twitter.com/vHCmN5xsGh
— C (@napakins)June 04, 2025
https://twitter.com/elizabeyonce/status/1573536866464415744
Setting aside critics’ opinions,Don’t Worry Darlingoffered a limited script to a flat character, and although professional actors have done more with less, Harry Styles is far from being a professional in the field. This is what makes it scary for veteran world-building institutions like Marvel to have names like his attached to their roster of lead casts, especially when there could be a future possibility of Starfox’s appearance in the MCU. To have Styles’ name linked toEternalson a whim was a bad call and whether they decide to recast him or completely remove the role of Eros, it still begs re-evaluation of an industry’s priorities to feature famous names just for publicity.
Don’t Worry Darlingis now playing in theatres worldwide.
Source:Screen Rant
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2410
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
