Olivia Wilde has claimed she specifically picked Harry Styles for the lead role in Don't Worry Darling because he isn't an actor.
Don't Worry Darling, which has commanded attention over the last few weeks amid allegations over cast relationships and fallouts, stars former One Direction singer Harry alongside established stars of the silver screen Florence Pugh, Gemma Chan and Chris Pine.
From the release of the film's trailer earlier this year, Harry's involvement caught the attention of fans and in particular his 'all over the place' accent.
After the flick finally got its premiere at the Venice Film Festival this week, critics have also been divided over his acting skills, with some calling him a 'dud' while others called him a 'natural'.
In the face of the backlash, Olivia, 38, defended her boyfriend and insisted his lack of acting credits is exactly why she wanted him on the movie.
"My thing with Harry was that I knew he was fearless," she said.
"I'd rather work with a non-actor who's fearless than a trained actor who is full of hang-ups and baggage and judgment."
She added to Vanity Fair : "What I love about working with singers and dancers is they commit 100 percent because, as a dancer, if you don't commit 100 perfect, you get hurt.
"With singers, it's the same."
Harry doesn't seem to mind the comments on his on-screen abilities as he previously opened up about it during the press conference ahead of the Venice Film Festival premiere earlier this week.
The singer, who was praised for his role in Dunkirk in 2017, said that acting and music were the 'opposite in a lot of ways'.
"What I like about acting is I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing," he told reporters.
"Making music is a really personal thing," he said. "There are aspects of acting where you’re drawing from experiences a bit, but for the most part, you’re pretending to play someone else. That’s what I find the most interesting about it."
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The cast of the movie have already caused a frenzy online with a whole host of behind-the-scenes drama before the premiere unleashed a new wave of awkwardness surrounding the movie.
Not only did Harry and Olivia arrive separately in Venice for the city's film festival, but leading lady Florence skipped the press conference entirely and was seen enjoying a cocktail.
Fans were even convinced that Harry spent a lot of time on the red carpet refusing to stand next to Olivia, while Florence didn't seem to address the two when she arrived in an iconic dress.
Things spiralled even further when people accused Harry of spitting on Chris as he sat down in his assigned seat for the premiere. Both parties have denied the claims, with Chris' reps calling it a 'ridiculous story'.
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