Harry Styles on LA Life, His Love Life and the After-Life

Taken from the A/W16 issue of Another Man:

CHELSEA HANDLER: Hi honey! We miss you!

HARRY STYLES: Hi! Miss you too. What’s going on?

CH: I had a long, late night last night. We had a big dinner party at my house for my show so everybody was here until like, 3am. And now I have the trainer coming over in about an hour. Can you believe we share the same trainer?

HS: I can believe it; our bodies are so similar.

CH: We have almost the same exact body.

HS: Makes sense.

CH: You know that I’m stronger than you though, right?

HS: I’m sure.

CH: Yeah, I am. So you were just doing a movie. I heard that you were in freezing cold water all day shooting.

HS: Yeah! It’s fun though.

CH: What’s it like? Were you nervous?

HS: Yeah, I was nervous. But it’s going good I think.

CH: So I want to hear about how you decided to do the movie.

HS: I did acting at school. It’s something I’ve always wanted to explore but I was busy with the band so I never felt like I had time to do it the right way. When we took some time off, I thought I’d see if it might work. It’s a challenge, but it feels good to be out of my comfort zone.

CH: What was your fist day on set like? You must have been scared, right?

HS: My first day on set was probably one of the hardest days of work I’ve ever done. It was so cold, there was sand in my eyes, it was intense. The movie is really ambitious. It just shocked me how big the whole process is.

CH: It makes you feel kind of small.

HS: Yeah, big time. Even just walking in to get lunch and seeing hundreds and hundreds of people sitting around makes you realise the scale of it all.

CH: My friend said the best director she’s ever worked with was Christopher Nolan. For that to be the first person you start acting with is incredible.

HS: Yeah, I feel lucky to be involved in it. It feels like a really cool project. I’m a big fan of his movies; I’m kind of in awe of him. He has an amazing brain, the way he works stuff out. He clearly does so much research and I guess that’s why he doesn’t just churn out a load of movies. It definitely takes some of the nerves away, you know if you do something wrong he’ll tell you.

CH: I know you’re very private, how have you adapted to your lack of anonymity?

HS: I think there are a couple different approaches to it. Some people don’t let it bother them at all, and I admire that. People will say, the lack of privacy is one side of it and you have to take it for what it is. I just like hanging out quietly with friends and family. I don’t think I’m weird about it, I just like having time with friends. That’s what’s normal to me.

CH: You spend a lot of time in LA, is it exactly what you thought it would be?

HS: I think it’s a bad place to visit. People go for a week and say they hated it. When you ask them what they did you completely understand why they hated it because they did the weirdest stuff. It’s definitely a place where you can get into some weird shit, but I have a couple of friends who moved out there for work so I have this nice little group of people there. The weather is constantly exceptional. Growing up in England if it’s sunny your mum comes in and goes, ‘It’s sunny, you need to get out of bed right now’. In LA you get up every day and it’s like that. You end up having a life filled with doing pleasant things. You don’t mind going to work that much.

CH: So do you feel like you’re going to get married and have kids?

HS: That came out of absolutely nowhere.

CH: Well, that’s our conversation. It’s just like any other conversation we have.

HS: It’s tame for you. I’m a little disappointed if I’m honest.

CH: Well, don’t worry about it. I don’t care if you’re disappointed in me.

HS: Oh. Well, I think so. Probably.

CH: Do you think, ‘When I meet the right person’? Or do you think, ‘I’m going to have as many experiences as possible and I’m going to date as many people as possible’? Do you think about having a family?

HS: I can’t wait for a time when that’s a thing for me, I look forward to that in my life. For now, I feel like you enjoy experiences more when you go with people you really want to be with and really care about. I’m enjoying working right now and if you’re enjoying working you should make the most of it. I’m enjoying being in the studio and doing this movie and I’m not too bothered about going on vacation. I feel pretty lucky right now. I feel good about everything that happened with the band, I have no complaints or regrets.

CH: Is it over? Are you guys going to do anything else together?

HS: I don’t know. When we started people asked, ‘Where do you think you’ll be in in five years?’

CH: Oh god, I hate that question!

HS: People always ask, right? It’s a difficult question to answer. I would never say we’ll never do anything again but it’s good for us to be exploring different things. Maybe at some point everyone will want to do something again but it’s better if it happens naturally like, ‘Hey, we all really want to do this again.’ If that were to happen it would be amazing. I would never rule that out. It’s the most important, greatest thing that ever happened to me, being in that band. It completely changed my life.

CH: Do you believe in God?

HS: Wow.

CH: I mean, you seem kind of spiritual to me, like hippie spiritual. I didn’t know if you were religious.

HS: I’m glad you said it, I feel like anyone who says, ‘I’m spiritual’ sounds a little wanky. But yeah, I definitely consider myself to be more spiritual than religious. I’m not super tied-in to certain rules but I think it’s naïve to say nothing exists and there’s nothing above us or more powerful than us. I think that’s a little narrow-minded.

CH: Are you one of those people who thinks everything happens for a reason?

HS: I definitely believe in karma. I think ‘everything happens for a reason’ is a difficult one because there’s a lot of shit happening in the world that’s so unfair right now. So it’s hard to look at that stuff and think, ‘Well, everything happens for a reason’. But I definitely think there’s something, that it’s not just us. It’s kind of crazy to think that it’s just us. I’m not saying I believe in aliens, but you know what I mean. Are you religious?

CH: No! I believe in karma, in energy, I believe people make things happen because there’s too much magic. But conversely, there’s so much sadness it’s hard to believe in what the reasoning behind everything is. Any person who has a brain thinks about it. So, back to when you were performing with One Direction. What makes a great show and what makes a not-so-great show? Did you ever get off stage and feel like that wasn’t a great show?

HS: If you give it everything then it’s difficult to come off stage and say, ‘That was really shitty’. I just sort of zone-in. I wanted people to have a good time. I love going to shows and watching live music. You just feel there’s a responsibility. You have a stage and a place to say something and the way you use that is important.

CH: Do you have a favourite memory from being onstage?

HS: Playing these big venues when you just see a sea of people, that view… You stop for a second and wish you could bring all your friends to just stand there with you for a second and see it. It’s unlike anything else. There’s no drug you can take that gives you that same high. It’s pretty amazing that it’s a natural thing. The feelings come back to you – the view, the people. It’s cool to have such specific moments in your mind to look back on.

CH: Also, sometimes you miss those moments. When you’re so busy and you’re on the road doing a million shows, sometimes when it happens you weren’t paying attention. I’m always like, ‘This is another one of those moments, pay attention, pay attention!’ It’s so rarefied and most people don’t ever get to experience something like that. Some people would never want to.

HS: Yeah, and there’s no book or lesson you learn at school that teaches you to deal with it or even process it. Stuff like that is so surreal. Those moments definitely come back to you, whether it’s a month or a year later.

CH: Oh shit, the trainer’s here! He just pulled up.

HS: Well, thanks for being so appropriate.

CH: Oh well, I’m just trying to make you look good.

HS: I appreciate it, thank you.