Los Angeles, Feb 17: Actor-filmmaker Olivia Wilde has lauded singer-actor and rumoured boyfriend Harry Styles for taking a supporting part in her upcoming directorial “Don’t Worry Darling”.
There are also reports that Wilde has moved in with Styles after she was seen shifting multiple suitcases from the home she used to share with former longtime partner, “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis into the singer’s house here on Valentine’s Day.
“Don’t Worry Darling”, Wilde’s second as a filmmaker after her debut with critically-acclaimed “Booksmart”, will feature Styles alongside Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, KiKi Layne and Gemma Chan.
The director, who is also starring in the psychological thriller, gave a shout-out to Styles in a post on Instagram on Monday, praising his “humility and grace” for agreeing to the supporting part in the film.
“Little known fact: most male actors don’t want to play supporting roles in female-led films. The industry has raised them to believe it lessens their power (ie financial value) to accept these roles, which is one of the reasons it’s so hard to get financing for movies focusing on female stories,” Wilde, 36, wrote alongside a black-and-white still of the former One Direction member from the movie.
Styles, who made his feature film acting debut with Christopher Nolan’s 2017 war drama “Dunkirk”, replaced Shia LaBeouf on the movie last September.
Wilde further said it is difficult to find actors who would make way for a woman “to hold the spotlight” in a film.
“Enter: @harrystyles, our ‘Jack’. Not only did he relish the opportunity to allow for the brilliant @florencepugh to hold center stage as our ‘Alice’, but he infused every scene with a nuanced sense of humanity.
“He didn’t have to join our circus, but he jumped on board with humility and grace, and blew us away every day with his talent, warmth, and ability to drive backwards,” the filmmaker said.
In early January, Wilde and Styles, 27, were photographed holding hands at a friend’s wedding, sparking dating rumours. Post the wedding, they were spotted at the singer’s LA home with luggage in tow.
Wilde and ex-fiance Sudeikis split in early 2020. They are parents to son Otis, six, and daughter Daisy, four.
Styles was last linked to model Camille Rowe. They broke up in 2018. (PTI)
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