Nicholas Galitzine Talks The Idea of You , Anne Hathaway, and Being Inspired by BTS

Alisha Wetherill/Prime Video

It seems like The Idea of You star Nicholas Galitzine hasn't stopped working since emerging as Hollywood's new leading man over the last couple years. His acting — and newfound dance skills — has led him to work with the likes of Idina Menzel, Julianne Moore, Ayo Edebiri, and now Anne Hathaway, who he affectionately calls “Annie.” While her prolific acting career might be intimidating to some, Galitzine tells Teen Vogue that Hathaway always has “an openness to collaborate.”

Galitzine and Hathaway make a case for age-gap (and fame-gap) relationships in their forthcoming romance film, The Idea of You — which is set to be released on Amazon Prime on May 2. (Hathaway is also a producer on the film.)

“I think on the outside, when you're an up-and-coming actor and you're working with someone who's been very established in the industry for a while, there can be this maybe implicit power difference, where you feel you have to change the way you work,” Galitzine says. “But with [Hathaway]… I've never felt that.”

“[She] cares so deeply about the stuff that she puts out in the world, and we so loved our characters and our relationship with each other onscreen,” he continues. “I think very quickly we became friends, and it made the experience and the creative process very easy actually.”

Directed by The Big Sick's Michael Showalter, The Idea of You follows Solène, played by Hathaway, a 40-year-old single mom who stumbles upon a boy band star Hayes Campbell (Galitzine) — an unexpected romance ensues. But things get complicated with their age difference, Hayes' fame, and Solène's teenage daughter, played by Ella Rubin, who was once a huge fan of Hayes' boy band August Moon.

Galitzine is no stranger to the romance genre; he starred in Prime Video's Red, White, & Royal Blue last year, alongside Taylor Zakhar Perez, and also played Prince Charming in the 2021 adaptation of Cinderella (starring Camila Cabello). But while his status as a leading man has only continued to form, Galitzine says that he “wants to have my feet planted in every different genre.”

“I hope to keep creating that versatility that I think someone like Annie is an example of,” Galitzine says.

Don't get him wrong, Galitzine's a big fan of rom-coms and agrees that audiences are craving them again — especially considering the recent commercial success of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell's Anyone But You.

“I think we really need these movies,” Galitzine says. “I think we need to feel joy and hope in the world. And our movie has certain tragic, sad elements to it as well, but I think all the best romances do. They do the funny, they do the sad equally well.”

The Idea of You is based on a book of the same name by author Robinne Lee, and many fans believe that Galitzine's character Hayes Campbell is based on Harry Styles and his relationships with older women. Lee said in a Vogue interview that the inspiration is partly based on Styles, but that he's more of a mix of “Prince Harry-meets-Harry [Styles]," along with actor Eddie Redmayne and men in her own life. With that in mind, Galitzine said he felt that Hayes was “his own person," even down to his music tastes.

“I think with Hayes we obviously looked at a lot of different boy bands and what it's like growing up in these really sometimes claustrophobic environments,” Galitzine says. “Different references proved useful for different elements of the movie as well. The choreography, we looked a lot at a few K-pop bands, BTS, the style in which they perform.”

Galitzine's dancing and singing skills were put to the test in The Idea of You as he tried to emulate a major pop singer — moves and all. The actor jokes that he hopes the early videos of him in dance rehearsal “never see the light of day.”

“It was painful to watch and it didn't come naturally to me,” Galitzine says. “I come from a sporting background, where it's all being solid. You have to be a solid frame in a lot of ways. And dancing is the opposite. You have to be fluid and you have to be water.” He also says that learning to dance gave him a newfound respect for dancers, calling them the most “underappreciated, underrepresented, underpaid of all the art forms.”

Following the film's March 16 premiere at SXSW Festival and the Prime Video release date looming, Galitzine's presence in the public eye will likely only grow. Part of the movie's main conflict centers around Anne Hathaway's character finding it difficult to adjust to the constant public scrutiny of her relationship with a megastar. In his own experience with fame, Galitzine said he tries to “keep certain parts of my life private," while also remaining grateful for the pleasant interactions with his fans. “I love getting to just actually have very human conversations with people,” he says.

The trailer for The Idea of You was released in early March and Galitzine said the response has made him “excited” for the film's release. Following the film's premiere at SXSW, Hathaway became visibly emotional about the crowd's positive reaction — which was reportedly a series of “oohs” and excited shrieks.

“You have no idea the gift that you've just given us with your responsiveness, by being so connected to every little nuance in this. I will never forget this screening,” Hathaway told the crowd afterward.

Nicholas Galitzine echoes Anne Hathaway's sentiment and told the audience that the two actors shared a sense of humor and chemistry. “We filmed this a fair bit of time ago, and I think we've just been really excited about having it in the world."

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue