Harry Styles' acting skills get thumbs up from Hollywood stuntman

Hollywood stuntman Riley Harper was pleasantly surprised with Harry Styles’ performance in Dunkirk.

Since British boyband One Direction started their hiatus in January (16), Harry has thrown himself into the acting world. His first feature film is Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, with fans eager to see how the singer fares in front of the camera, opposite screen legends Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy and Kenneth Branagh.

Riley, who previously teamed up with Christopher on The Dark Knight Rises, lent his talents to the World War II drama, and witnessed Harry in action on set.

“I got to see Harry Styles which was fun. Was he doing well? Actually, he was doing really well,” Riley smiled to Matches Fashion. “It’s sort of surprising when you hear that someone like that has actually got pretty good chops. He was super cool, in fact. Nice genuine guy.”

Riley’s one of the industry’s most in demand stuntmen, and has appeared in everything from Iron Man to Furious 7. He followed his father Tom Harper into the business, and has nearly 100 stunt credits to his name.

When it comes to doubling for a celebrity, Riley admits a lot of stars would love to do their own stunts. While it’s rare that actors ever get the chance, Tom Cruise is renowned for doing his own action scenes, but Riley explains that the Mission Impossible actor still heavily relies on the help of professionals.

“A great deal of stars are forbidden, simply as the studio and producers won’t take the risk. But Tom Cruise is the producer on his movies and he calls the shots. I have some friends who have doubled Tom. You have to remember these stuntmen spend months and months perfecting the art of the stunt and making it safe before he comes even anywhere near the set – then he takes all the credit!” he laughed.