Harry Styles almost played Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid - but here's why he wasn't cast

Harry Styles may have started his career on The X Factor many moons ago, but following the huge success of One Direction he has gone on to have an incredible solo career, pick up a healthy number of Grammys and Brit awards, and secure himself spots in some of the biggest movies in Hollywood. 

Since appearing in Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning war movie Dunkirk back in 2017, Harry has gone on to star in Don't Worry Darling alongside Florence Pugh and My Policeman with Emma Corrin and David Dawson. 

It was also rumoured that he would appear in the live action remake of The Little Mermaid alongside Halle Bailey. The As It Was singer was tipped to be playing Eric, but in 2019 it was announced that Jonah Hauer-King would be taking on the role of the dashing Disney Prince. 

However, it seems that there was actually some truth in those rumours. According to the director Rob Marshall, Harry was in talks for the role of Eric but wanted to do 'darker' movies. 

He told Entertainment Weekly: "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."

According to Marshall, Harry was hoping that by taking on a number of different roles he wouldn't be typecast. 

He 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."

Fans are very ready for the remake to hit the silver screen, and it will finally be released next month after years of anticipation. 

Excited? Same.