Christopher Nolan didn't know how famous Harry Styles was when he was cast in the upcoming Dunkirk. Styles, the 23-year old former member of the British boy band One Direction has recently gone solo and tried his hand at acting. Styles plays a British soldier in Nolan's World War II suspense-thriller and has gained quite a lot of attention for playing the role, but has equally brought attention to the upcoming release of Dunkirk, something that the director and co-star Mark Rylance were not immediately aware of at the time of Styles' casting .

Christopher Nolan recently did an interview with Sunday World to promote Dunkirk and reveal that he really did not realize how famous Harry Styles was and the real reason behind his casting. Nolan explains.

"I don't think I was that aware of how famous Harry was. I mean my daughter talked about him. My kids talked about him, but I wasn't really aware of it. So the truth is, I cast Harry because he fit the part wonderfully and truly earned a seat at the table."

When news of Harry Styles casting was announced, many wondered if Nolan had been taking crazy pills and wondered about what kind of movie Dunkirk would turn out to be with a member from a boy band in it. But those fears have since subsided with the release of trailers and TV spots that were not capitalizing on the fact that Styles is in the movie. It appears as though Styles is not only a remarkably talented musical performer, but he was also able to get the thumbs up from acclaimed director Christopher Nolan, which one can imagine is no small feat especially when you consider that he won the part against auditioning hundreds of other candidates.

Co-start Mark Rylance who portrays Mr. Dawson, Peter's father in Dunkirk said that he learned about the power of Harry Styles from his 11-year old niece saying that "she was just more excited than anything I've ever done because I was going to work with Henry Styles. I went up in her estimation. I won the Harry!" It appears as if Dunkirk may be getting a lot more fans of Styles in the theaters than anyone had imagined. Which makes sense to fans of Styles and his music, but has come as somewhat of shock to Nolan and his co-stars.

Fionn Whitehead who portrays Tommy, a British Army private has said that the whole hype surrounding Harry Styles in Dunkirk is rather "silly." In a recent interview, Whitehead said of Styles "he's great, he's a good actor and a lovely guy." Whitehead went on to say that the hysteria should have been expected and then went on to say "I think it's got a bit silly really. The meaning has gotten lost somewhere along the way and people have stopped realizing there's an amazing cast - including Harry - but there's, you know, the crème de la crème of actors." We'll have to wait until the movie is released to know the true depth of the hysteria, but it's a Christopher Nolan movie, it's not a Harry Styles vehicle to promote his solo album and there's definitely not a One Direction song on the soundtrack, it's going to be okay everybody.

Dunkirk is set to open in theaters on July 21st, 2017 and will have a limited run in 70mm film in select theaters. Though the 70mm release is limited, it will be the largest 70mm opening in nearly 25 years. Moviegoers will of course have the option to see it in a wide normal release on July 21st as well, but Nolan filmed the movie with the 70mm in mind, shooting on high resolution film whenever possible. As for Harry Styles, he's currently preparing for a world solo tour that kicks off in the fall.