Harry Styles has confessed to turning down the role of Prince Eric in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
Earlier this year (2019), rumors were swirling that the former One Direction singer had been tapped to appear in the reboot of the 1989 animated classic, although it was later reported the star had opted out of the role.
And speaking with presenters Roman Kemp and Sonny Jay on Britain’s Capital Breakfast radio show, Harry opened up about why he walked away from the project.
Explaining he had been approached by the team behind the upcoming flick, the Lights Up hitmaker detailed: “I had, you know, a meeting with Rob Marshall the director, who is the most wonderful man, he’s great.
“And it was just, honestly, it was just a few things. It just, it wasn’t… erm… I think it’s gonna be amazing, obviously, it’s an amazing film, and I can tell Roman’s watching how I’m kind of worming.”
“No mate!” Roman exclaimed. “It’s not… Harry, it’s because…” as he urged him to answer.
However, Harry took the awkward moment as a way out of the conversation, joking “How’s he gonna worm around this one?” as he avoided answering the question altogether.
Harry made his acting debut in Christopher Nolan‘s Oscar-winning war film Dunkirk in 2017 but has yet to build on his screen career. In addition to the Disney project, the star auditioned for the role of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann‘s biopic of the singer but U.S. actor Austin Butler got the part instead.
Singer/actress Halle Bailey is the only star confirmed for The Little Mermaid so far, which begins production next year.
