Harry Styles made his big screen debut in 2017′s Dunkirk. Since then, he’s pursued a career as a movie star while still ruling the charts with his music.

The “Watermelon Sugar” crooner was introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and led two acclaimed films in 2022 alone. Like any other actor, though, Harry has been in the running for some major roles that he did not end up landing.

Some of those he was only considered at early phases in the casting projects. Others he auditioned for before someone else was cast. Harry even passed on a couple of projects for various reasons!

We gathered together everything we know about the roles that Harry was considered for. The list even includes a movie that was already released in 2024 and another that will premiere soon. Interestingly, he competed with the same actor for two roles.

2019′s Last Christmas

Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding took center stage in 2019′s Last Christmas. However, it’s been confirmed by director Paul Feig that Harry was in the running for Henry‘s part.

“I love Harry. We wanted him to play the part that Henry Golding played but he turned it down because he felt he was too young for the role,” he told The Sun.

Years later, Paul told Yahoo that he tried to get Harry in “a few” movies.

2023′s The Little Mermaid

Halle Bailey‘s Princess Ariel falls in love with Jonah Hauer-King‘s Prince Eric in 2023′s retelling of The Little Mermaid. However, it could have been Harry Styles belting out Eric’s song “Wild Uncharted Waters” instead.

Director Rob Marshall confirmed that the One Direction hitmaker was up for the role, but he turned it down. Harry had a reason for the decision, too.

Harry “really felt like he wanted to go off and do the movies that he ended up doing, which were sort of darker,” he explained to EW.

The musician also confirmed that it “was discussed” during an interview with The Face. ​“I want to put music out and focus on that for a while. But everyone involved in it was amazing, so I think it’s going to be great. I’ll enjoy watching it, I’m sure.”

We previously rounded up several other actors that were up for the role.

2018′s Solo: A Star Wars Movie

Alden Ehrenreich brought Harrison Ford‘s iconic Star Wars character Han Solo to life in Solo: A Star Wars Movie. However, the rumor mill had Harry linked to the role.

He was asked about the role during a 2017 appearance on The Graham Norton Show, where he dodged the question. Graham and others in the audience seemed to take his expression as a confession that he was at one point in the running. It was also the only question he didn’t have a verbal answer for, further feeding into the speculation.

Press play on the interview segment below.

2022′s Elvis

Austin Butler landed an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann‘s Elvis. However, Harry‘s musical background made him an obvious choice for the role, and it was confirmed that he was in the running.

Baz actually addressed the casting decision and explained that Harry‘s status as a pop star worked against him in this case.

“I don’t audition,” he said about his casting process during a podcast appearance. “I do these really rich workshops. I’ll talk about Harry only because Harry said it himself just recently.”

He added that “Harry is really talented actor. I would work on something with him…” however, “the real issue with Harry is, he’s Harry Styles. He’s already an icon.”

“I think Harry and I came to a place, genuinely I mean, he was just desperate to put the suit on and explore,” Baz continued. “He’s such a great spirit and I have nothing but great things to say about Harry Styles.”

Robert Eggers’ unreleased Nosferatu remake

Acclaimed director Robert Eggers confirmed rumors that Harry was in the running for a role in his remake of the classic horror film Nosferatu. Whispers linked the hitmaker to the lead role. However, the director confirmed to The Guardian that was not the case.

“I do want to be clear that Harry was going to be Thomas Hutter and not the vampire,” he explained. Nicholas Hoult has since confirmed that he’s involved with the project in the role intended for Harry.

“Robert Eggers, I think, is one of the most exceptional, brilliant directors we have at the moment, and his approach to storytelling, his approach to being authentic and true, and the way he designs shots and tells the story are just remarkable,” Nicholas told Collider earlier this year, confirming that filming had already commenced.

2017′s Tulip Fever

Harvey Weinstein told the Daily Mail in 2017 that he had offered Harry a role in Tulip Fever, which ultimately went to Matthew Morrison.

“He was touring so he had to turn it down,” Harvey alleged, adding that he missed a chance to film a kiss scene with Cara Delevingne. “So I’m sure Harry won’t be turning be down the next role I offer him.”

2024′s Mean Girls

The Mean Girls musical movie almost featured Harry in a very iconic, albeit small, role. Directors Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne recently revealed that they toyed with contacting the singer to play Glen Coco.

If you forgot, Glen was a character who is only mentioned in passing when Candy Cane-grams are being passed out. His role is incredibly minimal, but the character is at the center of one of the original movie’s most memorable lines – “You go Glen Coco.”

Samantha told the outlet that the line was guaranteed to go into the movie since it’s so popular. However, they started questioning who could fill the role.

Arturo recalled the conversation, saying, “Who can it be? I remember us going, could we ask, like Harry Styles.”

“We were like Harry Styles could be Glen Coco,” Samantha agreed. However, “Then we were like, hold on, we love to break the fourth wall: What if we are all Glen Coco? So, after 20 years, we can all feel like Glen Coco.”

They decided to go the opposite direction. It’s not clear if they ever even reached out to Harry about the idea.

2024′s Dune: Part 2

Austin Butler joins the likes of Zendaya and Timothee Chalamet in Dune: Part 2. However, it was strongly alleged by a New York Times reporter that Harry‘s name was also in the running at one point.

If you were unaware, Austin is playing a character named Feyd-Rautha. On Twitter earlier this year, reporter Kyle Buchanan responded to a Deadline story about Austin being up for the role. He tweeted that “I know that they also looked at Harry Styles and Tye Sheridan for this role.”

Harry himself does not appear to have commented on the rumors.

For what it’s worth, this would make the second role he competed with Austin for. We rounded up several other actors that also auditioned for a chance to play the King of Rock in Elvis.