Nicholas Galitzine was taken by surprise in his casting of “The Idea of You” when after only one audition with star and producer Anne Hathaway, he landed the role of boy band frontman Hayes Campbell.
“They liked me, I guess,” he admitted bashfully on a Wednesday interview with Jessica Shaw for SiriusXM’s “The Spotlight.”
Galitzine pulled back the curtain on his nail-biting audition process for the Amazon Studios adaptation of Robinne Lee’s 2017 novel of the same name, saying that his goal on the day was to “leave everything in the room.”
“I remember going, you know, walking up to that audition that day and thinking, ‘I just want to leave everything in that room. I’m not going to be intimidated. I’m not going to be overwhelmed,’” he said. “I think I just went in with a really positive energy.”
Galtizine did not let his nerves get to him, adding that he was fortunate that he and “Annie” Hathaway “have a natural simpatico” and that the Oscar winner was “just so responsive to what I was doing.”
(Fittingly, it’s chemistry that Shaw noticed, as well: “You and Anne Hathaway are so perfect together! You’re perfect separately and you’re perfect together,” the host gushed.)
“I left feeling amazing,” Galtizine continued of the audition day, “but you never know in these things. There have been roles which were guaranteed to be mine and you miss out on them, and so my sense of validation came from the fact that I knew that I couldn’t do anything else, and I had a really great time.”
That’s when he revealed that it was the very next day after auditioning with Hathaway that he got the call.
“I was just lucky they called me the next day and offered it to me,” he said.
“The very next day?” Shaw asked, surprised.
“Yeah. They liked me, I guess.” Galitzine said with a smile.
The actor costars as the 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of a famous boy band who starts an exciting and unexpected romance with a single 40-year-old mom, Solène, played by Hathaway.
“The Idea of You” is not the first romantic role he has played, either. The breakout British actor is previously best known for “Purple Hearts,” “Red, White and Royal Blue,” “Bottoms” and the upcoming TV series “Mary & George,” which costars Julianne Moore.
“The Idea of You” streams worldwide on Prime Video starting May 2.
