"Hardin Scott Academy of acting": Harry Styles' acting in Don't Worry Darling teaser leaves internet divided

n August 25, 2022, Warner Bros. Pictures unveiled an intense 18-second clip of Harry Styles and Florence Pugh-starrer Don't Worry Darling.

The video, which was released on YouTube, features Styles arguing with Pugh's character, and has garnered mixed reactions from fans.

Set in the 1950s, the film will feature Harry Styles and Florence Pugh in the lead roles of Jack and Alice Chambers - a couple who start out as having quite the idyllic life, before things go haywire and shatter that facade.

The short clip released by WB shows Styles explaining the importance of having each other's backs to maintain the life they have together. While talking to Florence Pugh's character, a clearly frustrated Harry states:

“Not everyone gets this opportunity. And if you keep talking like this, you’re going to put it all at risk."

To this, she responds:

“You’re worried about a demotion? That’s what you’re worried about?"

Style retorts by saying:

“Our life — our life Alice. Our life together. This — we could lose this.”

While numerous fans seemed to be in awe of the video, many others compared Styles' performance to the character of Hardin Allen Scott from the After film saga. In the films, Hardin was a tattooed rebel with a difficult past, and was immediately noticed by fans owing to his rough demeanor.

Now, many of them are drawing parallels between him and Styles' acting in Don't Worry Darling.

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Fans are split over Harry Styles' acting skills

After the short clip from Don't Worry Darling went viral, Twitterati seemed to be unable to agree on their opinions about Harry Styles' acting skills.

While several fans were left in awe of the Watermelon Sugar crooner's performance as a toxic male from the 1950s, a bulk of Tweets brutally trolled him for taking on this project, and criticized his British accent.

One fan even went on to point that Harry Styles, who has lesser film experience than Florence Pugh, got paid more because of his popularity.

Even Instagram saw a number of users criticizing Harry Styles' acting. Def Noodles, a famous Instagram user, shared a post with a caption, "Harry Styles murders acting scene," which led many people to jump aboard the bandwagon of criticism in the comments section.

Mocking his accent, one comment read:

"I wish I had the ophachewnetie to not see this clip."

Another user mocked:

"Should stick to singing. Only Americans love this because of his accent."

A third user commented:

"God this is not good."

Meanwhile, there were some fans who took his side and praised him for his intense acting in the forthcoming film.

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Olivia Wilde revealed that Harry Styles' acting "left us all in tears"

While talking to the Rolling Stone Magazine, Don't Worry Darling's director and Styles' partner, Olivia Wilde recalled an incident during the filming which left everyone on set visibly shaken.

Referring to one particular "strange scene," Wilde spoke about how Harry's acting stood out:

“The scene called for him to stand onstage with Frank (Chris Pine) and chant their creepy slogan, ‘Whose world is it? Ours!’ over and over again. Dark as hell. But Harry took it to another level. He was so fully in the moment, he began screaming the lines to the crowd, in this primal roar, that was way more intense than anything we expected from the scene.”

Wilde added that Chris Pine started backing away from the As It Was singer for him to fully encapsulate the scene:

“The camera operator followed him as he paced around the stage like a kind of wild animal. We were all gobsmacked at the monitor. I think even Harry was surprised by it. Those are the best moments for an actor — when you’re completely outside your body.”

While Harry Styles' acting skills have been mocked and slammed, the forthcoming film will decide whether the actor has the potential to shut down his critics.

Don't Worry Darling will hit theaters on September 23, 2022.

Apart from Styles and Florence Pugh, the film also stars Nick Kroll, Sydney Chandler, Kate Berlant, Asif Ali, Douglas Smith, Timothy Simons and Ari’el Stachel.