'THE IDEA OF YOU' STAR NICHOLAS GALITZINE TAKES CUES FROM K-POP, '90S BOYBANDS

FOR NICHOLAS GALITZINE, IT was a "no-brainer" to take on the role of a boyband pop star who falls madly in love with a fan's divorced mom, played by Anne Hathaway, in "The Idea of You."

- NATHALIE M. TOMADA

In the romance drama premiering on Prime Video on May 2, Nicholas portrays Hayes, a 24-year-old British musician and frontman of the fictional superstar boyband August Moon. He has a fateful encounter with Anne's character, Solene, a 40-year-old art curator chaperoning her teen daughter at Coachella. Sparks fly, and they embark on a romance that's both exciting and challenging.

For Nicholas, working with Anne was a major attraction of "The Idea of You." "Well, I mean, I think for me, obviously, there was a large draw. I've been a fan of Annie's for a while. I mean, she's just consistently put out incredible and I think really versatile pieces of work," he said during a virtual roundtable interview attended by The STAR.

Another attraction was the story itself, adapted from the Robinne Lee novel widely speculated by fans to be inspired by One Direction's leader, Harry Styles.

"I think I saw a really interesting story that could appeal in a sort of popular culture way, but also had a really beautiful message that kind of seemed to go through the whole story," he said.

"And so, for me, at this point in my career, I'm searching for things that are both - they kind of have wide appeal and are really amazing character pieces. So it was kind of a no-brainer for me at this point in my career." In response to STAR question, Nicholas revealed that he had the most incredible audition experience for this film, thanks to his "intense" chemistry test with Anne, which also served as their "ice breaker." "Yeah, we had a really intense (chemistry test)," he shared.

"To be honest, I feel like the most incredible audition experience I've ever had, where I came in to meet Annie and I was such a massive fan already, but she was so giving.