The romantic-comedy film The Idea of You has Anne Hathaway’s character falling for a boy band member Hayes Campbell. Adapted from Robinne Lee‘s book of the same name, fans think the source material is all about Harry Styles. The American author gets real on who the character of Hayes Campbell is really based on.
When Robinne Lee wrote The Idea of You, she name-dropped Harry Styles as one source of inspiration for Hayes Campbell. Lee told Entertainment Weekly that fans have been calling her book “Harry Styles fan fiction” to her dismay.
“I don’t consider it fan fiction at all,” says Lee. “Harry was one of multiple people who went into creating Hayes Campbell — he was the only one in a British boy band that was current at the time, I guess, and so that’s what people have latched onto. It’s unfortunate because it’s being used as clickbait, and when I’m writing for Hayes, I’m not picturing Harry Styles.”
If anything, Robinne Lee used many real-life figures for Hayes Campbell other than Harry Styles. She used real-life couples, some exes, Duran Duran, the lifestyle of posh boys, and her husband rolled up in one.
Harry Styles may just be one celebrity inspiration, but Robinne Lee still regrets ever saying the pop sensation’s name.
“Some of the other guys are still in bands and alive and out there on tour, but they don’t get named ever. And that’s fine with me. You create your character and you make him what you want to make him. He feels very real to me, and I think Harry’s just what people gravitated to. But he’s not Harry in my head when I’m writing for him. He is not Harry and he’s not living Harry’s life. He’s very much his own person to me.”
Did Nicholas Galitzine Use Harry Styles as Inspiration?
Nicholas Galitzine, who plays Hayes Campbell, said he did not base his character on Harry Styles. According to People, the British actor decided to make the young musician character his own.
“I like to distance myself from that comparison because I think Hayes is his own character and has his own struggles and wants and tastes, even in who he is as a musician,” says Galitizine. “We took tons of different references. I think the boy band as a whole was an amalgam of a lot of different artists and groups. I’d love people to come to watch the movie with an open mind and embrace Hayes and August Moon, and maybe become fans of August Moon individually as well. I mean, there’s some really, really catchy songs in the movie.
The Red, White & Royal Blue actor said he and the movie’s fictional band August Moon used early Backstreet Boys to draw upon as well as the popular K-pop band BTS for the choreography.
“[BTS] have this ability to seem entirely nonchalant and chill in the way they hit their choreography. It’s almost like not so try-hard, effortlessly cool. We were trying to embody a little bit of that.”
Harry Styles may have initially been one starting point for inspiration in the character of Hayes Campbell, but it looks like Adrianne Lee and Nicholas Galitzine had many different muses to bring the young boy band musician to life.
