More praise is being heaped on the One Direction band member turned actor.

Harry Styles is set to make his acting debut in the WWII thriller Dunkirk alongside a number of Hollywood heavyweights including Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance.

The latest from Christopher Nolan (best-known for his films The Dark Knight and Inception, both awesome) tells the story of Operation Dynamo, which was a daring plan to rescue 300,000 Allied troops who were surrounded by Nazis soldiers in Dunkirk during World War II.

Speaking to the LA Times, Nolan revealed that Styles beat out 'thousands' to the role. He said: “When we put the cast together, we had some established names: Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy. But for the guys on the beach, we really wanted young unknowns. [Harry Style]’s not that unknown, but he’d never done anything as an actor before. So he auditioned. I auditioned literally thousands of young men with different combinations of young men. And he had it.”

Nolan also made it clear he wanted to shun the 'celebrity' angle of Styles' casting for when he was asked if the singer was hesitant about cutting his hair for the role, he stated: “I don't want to get into it.”

Styles had previously been praised by his co-star Cillian Murphy. Mind you, he hasn’t turned his back on his musical career yet as he released his debut solo single ‘Sign of the Times’ last week.