Actor ‘feels like a cut of beef at a meat market’ over comments about his looks

A male British actor said he feels like a “cut of beef at a meat market” over comments about his looks.

Nicholas Galitzine made the comments regarding commentary around his new romance film The Idea Of You.

The Cinderella actor, 29, stars opposite Anne Hathaway in the steamy comedy about an age-gap romance between Hayes Campbell, the fictional lead singer of boy band August Moon, and a mother he meets at Coachella music festival.

The actor, from London, spoke to British GQ about how it makes him feel to embody a character who he described as “supposedly good-looking”.

“I think the most important thing to me is that I’m taken seriously as a performer,” he said.

“I’m not gonna ask you to cry me a river here, but it’s been difficult being part of a conversation that feels very much like I am a cut of beef at a meat market.”

Galitzine said he feels this way with regard to casting and people’s reaction to his work.

He added: “I think that [his looks] being my defining feature is something I’m constantly terrified of.”

Galitzine also said it was important not to draw a direct parallel between his character and pop star Harry Styles.

The film is adapted from a novel by Robinne Lee, who previously said she was inspired by Styles when writing the book.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, however, she said Styles was “one of multiple people who went into creating Hayes Campbell”.

Much like Hayes, Styles, 30, used to be in a boy band and has been romantically linked to women who are older than him.

Galitzine said: “He’s an obvious comparison, knowing that the author was inspired by the fact that Harry seemed to be kind of in his own bracket as a young man dating an older woman.”

He added: “I think it’s very important that we don’t draw too much of a comparison to him because [Harry Styles] is a real person, within both the music industry and the film industry.

“I think we need to normalise [keeping them separate] as opposed to drawing a direct parallel to someone who already exists.”

Galitzine has starred in a number of other steamy romances including film Purple Hearts (2022), Red, White And Royal Blue (2023) and TV mini-series Mary And George (2024).