Christopher Nolan's WWII 'Dunkirk' Adds One Direction's Harry Styles to Cast

In a surprising move, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Christopher Nolan has gone to the world of pop music to cast his most recent film, finding a perfect fit for the character in the frontman of the most popular boy band in the world, One Direction. In his first screen role ever, Harry Styles has now officially joined the cast of Nolan's next film, Dunkirk, a World War II drama.

According to Deadline, the pop star and heartthrob has been offered a role in the film, though so far it's not believed to be a leading one. Still, details of the film's characters are being kept fairly secretive so far, so how big or small his involvement in the film will be remains unclear.

It appears that the "Perfect" singer truly impressed both Nolan and his partner Emma Thomas during the long casting process, prompting them to ask him to come on board.

While this is the first time he agrees to pursue a role, Styles has been offered the opportunity to act before. Famed producer Harvey Weinstein once said he'd offered the pop star a role in Tulip Fever, though he was turned down, though it might have been over lack of time; that's not currently a problem for Styles, as One Direction is on hiatus while its members pursue solo projects.

Variety reports that the pop star isn't the only new addition to Dunkirk's cast. Fellow acting newcomer Fionn Whitehead will also have a role in the film, after having co-starred in the British ITV drama Him earlier this year.

While the cast will apparently be led by young stars with little acting experience, the Interstellar director isn't taking any chances with the more mature roles. So far, other members of the cast include acting veterans like Kenneth Branagh, recent Oscar winner Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy, with whom Nolan has worked in the past on films like Inception and The Dark Knight Returns.

The WWII film will begin shooting in May ahead of its scheduled July 21, 2017 release date.