When Nicholas Galitzine auditioned for the role of lusted-after boy-bander Hayes Campbell in The Idea of You, he knew he had to deliver something special for the film’s leading lady and producer, Anne Hathaway. “It was Annie’s idea, of course,” he says of being tasked with singing a song at their first meeting. “She wanted the actors who were coming in to choose a song that would make her want to dance, and see, you know… movement.” Galitzine bypassed the recommended material in favor of a song of his own choice: “Best Part” by Daniel Caesar. “It was a good creative decision,” says Galitzine, cozy in a gray sweater, unperturbed by the enormous poster of his face on the wall behind him in the London hotel room where we’re chatting. “Clearly it went well…”
This anecdote—the pair ultimately spent hours that day singing, dancing, crying, and improvising —summarizes his working relationship with Hathaway pretty well, it seems. “There was this immediate connection,” Galitzine declares. “We’re in a project that requires chemistry. If you don’t have it, it just feels clunky, it won’t work.” Throw in Galitzine’s palpable charm and Hathaway’s acting chops, and we have a film worth watching.
It helps that Galitzine was already a fan of Hathaway and of The Idea of You director Michael Showalter. “It was a bit of a no-brainer really,” he says of signing up to play Anne’s love interest. His favorite film of Hathaway’s? “That’s like choosing your favorite child… but The Devil Wears Prada is such a complete film. And Love Other Drugs… she’s heartbreaking. But that’s the thing about Annie, her gift as an actor is she sort of draws you in with her sweetness and her charm, and then sucker punches you with her emotional capabilities. It’s hard to choose. We should ask what her favorite film of mine is!” Galitzine concludes, laughing.
On the face of it, The Idea of You is an easy watch about an age-gap romance and the pitfalls of being famous—fun, sexy escapism reminiscent of Wattpad’s heyday (explore the Harry Styles comparisons here) that any rom-com fan will enjoy. But the film also manages to deal with some pretty intense subject matter (such as the very real impact of online trolling) while it’s having a good time. Hathaway plays Solène Marchand, a 40-year-old single mom and business owner living a quiet suburban life with her teenage daughter. After her husband, Dan (Reid Scott), leaves her for a young co-worker, the unlikely friendship she strikes up with Galitzine’s 24-year-old Hayes reminds her of the youth she feels slipped by in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, Hayes, who has been a star since he was 16, is yearning for something more. “The script jumped out at me immediately,” Galitzine says. “I thought it was a really unconventional love story. I felt appreciation for who [Hayes] is as a person. He had a softness and maturity about him—a sense of self. He wants to be taken seriously in a lot of ways, and I think we all want that in some capacity.”
Galitzine also had a taste of life as a pop heartthrob courtesy of his boot camp-style preparation for the role: three weeks of dance rehearsals and recording in Sweden with vocal coach to the stars Eric Vetro. (“We did seven songs in two days, which was hectic.”) Did he take inspiration from anyone currently in the charts? “I’d say maybe in the choreography we did look at BTS, because they have such a coolness about them. But really, in terms of references, we kind of relied on our chemistry as a group.”
Galitzine’s CV to date—peppered with Prince Charmings and high-school jocks—has seen him ascend swiftly to the top tier of internet boyfriends. Things ramped up last summer with the release of the gay romance Red, White Royal Blue on Prime Video, which finds Galitzine’s English Prince Henry falling for the son of the president, played by Taylor Zakhar-Perez. This romp was followed a month later by Emma Seligman’s surreal high school comedy Bottoms, in which he starred alongside Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott. Galitzine’s performance as the handsome but dumb philandering jock, Jeff, underscored his potential as a sexy leading man with a sense of humor.
Then came Mary George, in which Galitzine stars opposite another Oscar-winner, Julianne Moore, as the real-life George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham and lover and confidant of King James. Propelled by his scheming mother, Mary (Moore), George manages to seduce the monarch and become one of the most powerful figures in Jacobean England. “[It] was an opportunity to do something unfamiliar to me—a period piece—that was edgy and challenging,” he says. It was also a critical smash. “The way critics and audiences have taken to it has been so exciting,” says Galitzine, who is quick to credit his co-star. “Julie is one of the most gracious, talented, brilliant people I’ve ever met.”
Where to next after this stellar run? Galitzine is staying tight-lipped—but he will say he’s feeling lucky. “There’s gonna be a continuation of iconic co-stars in the next couple of projects,” he teases. “You’ll have to wait and see.”