Harry Styles Confirms He Was In Talks For ‘The Little Mermaid’ & Reveals Why He Turned Prince Eric Role Down

The rumors are true. Harry Styles did indeed consider playing Prince Eric in the live-action remake of 'The Little Mermaid,' but explained what he chose to focus on instead!

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September 5, 2019 5:55PM EDT
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Harry Styles attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "Camp: Notes on Fashion" exhibition, in New York Costume Institute Benefit celebrating the opening of Camp: Notes on Fashion, Arrivals, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA - 06 May 2019
Los Angeles, CA - *EXCLUSIVE* - British crooner Harry Styles is pictured arriving for a workout after winning a grammy for album of the year. Harry Styles’ acceptance speech after he won the Grammy award for album of the year caused an uproar on social media Sunday night. “I think on nights like tonight it’s important for us to remember there is no such thing as ‘best’ in music. I don’t think any of us sit in the studio making decisions on what is going to get us one of these,” Styles said, referring to the award in his hands, which he won for the album “Harry’s House.” But it was the last sentence of his speech that riled up social media users, who took different interpretations of what he meant: “This doesn’t happen to people like me very often and this is so, so nice. Thank you very much,” Styles said, before handing the microphone off to his co-writers Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson. Pictured: Harry Styles BACKGRID USA 7 FEBRUARY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients - Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Harry Styles'Don't Worry Darling' premiere, 79th Venice International Film Festival, Italy - 05 Sep 2022
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Disney

Well, at least he gave us a reason. Harry Styles, 25, broke many fans’ hearts after a report claimed the former One Direction singer turned down the role of Prince Eric in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid on Aug. 13, per E! News, with no explanation given to satisfy curious Disney fans. Now, Harry not only confirmed that he was in the running to play Prince Eric, but revealed why he chose not to tackle this big screen project! “It was dis­cussed,” Harry confirmed in his cover story for The Face, published on Sept. 5. “I want to put music out and focus on that for a while.”

So, there’s your answer — Harry is focusing on his new album, which will be the successor to 2017’s debut solo record Harry Styles. But the “Sign of the Times” singer only had high praises for the people behind this latest live-remake of a Disney film! “Every­one involved in it was amaz­ing, so I think it’s going to be great. I’ll enjoy watch­ing it, I’m sure,” Harry said in the interview. Those sentiments reflect what a source close to the singer EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife in early August!

“Harry loves the whole team that’s being assembled,” the source told us at the time, and that included the actress for Princess Ariel: Halle Bailey, 19. “He thinks Halle’s incredibly talented and thinks she’s a brilliant choice for Ariel,” our insider explained. “He screen-tested with her and they clicked.” Harry was even a fan of a famous Broadway name who worked on the film’s soundtrack. “Harry’s also a fan of Lin Manuel Miranda, he’s written new songs for the movie, so that’s another exciting element for Harry,” our source pointed out. However, that same source clarified that Harry had been called on other “projects,” and that the casting wasn’t solidified — as you can see now.

While Harry’s opting to stay in the music lane for now, he did reflect on what drew him to acting after starring in Christopher Nolan’s World War 2 film, Dunkirk. “Why do I want to act? It’s so dif­fer­ent to music for me,” Harry told The Face, and the magazine noted that he became “suddenly animated.” He added, ​“They’re almost oppo­site for me. Music, you try and put so much of your­self into it; act­ing, you’re try­ing to total­ly dis­ap­pear in who­ev­er you’re being.”