Harry Styles Declined Prince Eric Role In ‘The Little Mermaid,’ & Seemingly A Chance To Star Alongside Halle Bailey, To Pursue ‘Darker Films’ & Non-Musicals

April 5, 2023 by Ariel Whitely in Film with 0 Comments

Harry Styles, Halle Bailey

Harry Styles Declined Prince Eric Role In ‘The Little Mermaid,’ & Seemingly A Chance To Star Alongside Halle Bailey, To Pursue ‘Darker Films’ & Non-Musicals

Looks like Harry Styles has different plans for his acting career than being “Under the Sea.”

The English singer was reportedly courted to play the role of Prince Eric, opposite Halle Bailey’s Ariel in Disney’s upcoming live-action “The Little Mermaid,” but he turned down the part.

“The Little Mermaid” director Rob Marshall revealed in a new interview that he met with entertainer Harry Styles during the film’s casting process to discuss the possibility of the Grammy winner taking on the lead role.

Harry Styles

According to the director, Harry Styles wanted to take on darker films and didn’t want to be in a musical as he made the jump from pop star to actor. Rob Marshall said of the 29-year-old vocalist,

“We met with him. He was lovely. What a wonderful guy. But at the end of the day, he really felt like he wanted to go off and do the movies that he ended up doing, which were sort of darker.”

Rob Marshall added,

“For a lot of young musical people like Harry, you’re trying to carve your way and you don’t wanna be seen as a singer, necessarily. That’s why he was really looking to do something not in the musical genre, to really stretch himself. It was really a fun idea to play with, but in the end, I always think things happen for a reason. I’m so happy to have two young, new people in the film.”

Despite turning down the Disney role, Harry Styles seems to be doing okay in the acting department. To date, he’s been featured in a few films, and his most recent projects — “Don’t Worry Darling” and “My Policeman” — dropped last year.

Reportedly, the upcoming musical film stars Halle Bailey, 23, as Princess Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy. Marshall ultimately cast actor Jonah Hauer-King, 27, in the role of Prince Eric.