If you’re a fan of the After series — and the newly released sequel After We Fell — you’re surely more than familiar with its origins. Anna Todd’s Wattpad fanfic turned best-selling book series then turned international blockbuster saga initially (and famously) modeled one of its main characters (Hardin Scott, played by Hero Fiennes-Tiffin) after Harry Styles. And though Hero says he “detached the Harry Styles aspect” when he took on the role, it looks like, thanks to Hardin, he does have some history with Harry.
In a new interview with StyleCaster, Hero opened up about bumping into Harry at the 2019 Met Gala, which the singer attended as one of the night’s co-chairs with Gucci’s Alessandro Michele. Hero briefly met Harry on the campy red carpet, and he now says the star gave him a “knowing look.”
“I shook his hand, and there was a kind of thing,” Hero told the publication. “We didn’t have the opportunity to talk because it was at the entrance, and it was quite full, but I feel like there was a little thing in the eyes of, like, we both knew. There was a knowing look. I haven’t spoken to him in detail about it. I hope that happens sometime.” (We hope so too!)
Aside from the funny anecdote, Hero further opened up about his character’s origins. “Harry Styles and One Direction are the inspiration, but Anna has written this crazy, amazing world of life that no longer needs them as inspiration because the characters are so well-rounded,” he added. “I didn’t need to draw any external inspiration from him by the time we got through the books to the script to Hardin’s character.”
This isn’t the first time Hero or even Anna herself have spoken about Harry in relation to the After universe. “I’m a fan of him, but it was more that I was immersed in this community of fanfiction writers who happened to be writing One Direction fanfiction,” Anna said in an interview with Film Inside, highlighting that aside from his looks, Hardin is actually pretty different than Harry.
Harry Styles anecdotes aside, After We Fell releases today, September 30, in the United States.
