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Harry Styles has been tipped for Hollywood stardom by the man who has given him his first movie break.

The One Direction star beat several big name actors to land his movie debut, World War II Dunkirk, the Sunday People reports.

The pop hearthrob will appear alongside Tom Hardy and acting icons Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance - with shooting currently taking place in France.

Directed by Christopher Nolan , the man behind The Dark Knight and Interstellar, the movie looks destined to transform Harry into a Hollywood star.

Harry, 22, caused a storm when the first snaps of him on set emerged - complete with his new-look short hair and army uniform.

The man who handed Harry, 22, the breakthrough role says he was head and shoulders above experienced stars.

John Papsidera said: “Harry was absolutely right for the role. As an actor he is unknown, but his readings made him an obvious choice. We thought he was fresh and interesting and he won the role.

Read more : Harry snapped on the set of Dunkirk

“It wasn’t because he’s a well known pop star – if anything that was more of a detriment, because it could bring the wrong message and we don’t want people pulled out of the film because of who they are.

“Our aim was to have people who are fresh and don’t bring a lot of prior work with them, so the audience will be really immersed in the film and not struggling with recognisable famous personalities.

“So Harry really had to overcome hurdles to get past that. He fought hard for it and his work was impressive and that’s what attracted us to him.

I don’t think he studied acting professionally and yet he won the role against some very well known actors.”

The details of Harry’s role are being kept under wraps, but John added: “He read for me, then us collectively in London. He did half a dozen readings, coming back and forth and it was no easy task for him.

‘This is a young man who passionately wanted this film and we looked at a lot of actors, certainly in the hundreds, some of them very well-known and many who had been to prestigious acting schools.

“It’s a great achievement for Harry that he won it, a great feather in his cap and we’re very excited having him in the film. I hope for him that he goes on to bigger things in Hollywood, he’s a lovely guy.

“I have never gone to his concerts, listened to his music or anything like that. None of us had. Chris’ kids knew who he was and we knew of him but we aren’t followers of his career.

“It is absolutely his own talent, ambition and hard work that has got him a part in a Christopher Nolan movie.

“It was because of his passion for being in the film, he jumped through every hurdle we put him through and really won it of his own accord.”

The movie sees Harry wade through mud as a soldier during the evacuation of 338,000 Allied troops after France was overrun by the Nazis in 1940.

Filming takes place around the world until September this year - with the movie expected to hit big screens in 2017.

“There will be a fair amount of wading through mud,” John adds. “But the Battle of Dunkirk was a monumental task and a lot of it was on the beach, so the beach is prominent in the film.

“We’re filming until end September so its a long, hard shoot and a big task.”